'^ 


THE    UNCROWNED     KING, 
THE  LIFE  AND  PUBLIC  SERVICES 

OK 

Hon.  Charles  Stewart  Parnell 


CONIPRISINO 


A  GRAPHIC  STORY  OF  HIS  ANCESTRY;    ALSO  FAMILY  REMINISCENCES,  RELATED  BY  HIS 

AGED  MOTHER, 

DELIA  TUDOR  STEWART  PARNELL, 

AND    A    BRILLIANT    HISTORY  OF  HIS    PUBLIC    SERVICES    IN  THE    GIGANTIC    MOVEMENT 

EXTENDING     THROUGHOUT     IRELAND,     AMERICA     AND     ENGLAND    FOR 

THE    RELIEF  OF  THE  SUFFERING    IN    IRELAND;     ALSO, 

A  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  HIS  GREAT 

CO-LABORER, 

RT.   HON.  WM.   E.   GLADSTONE. 

By  ROBERT   M,   McWADE,   ESQ., 

Ex-President  of  the  Municipal  Council  of  Philadelphia,  &c. 


PROKUSKIvY    IIvIvUSTRA^XKD. 


EDGEWOOD   PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 

1801. 


Copyrighted,  1891,  by  T.  S.  Meek. 


PREFACE 


Any  effort,  however  well  directed,  will  fail  in 
preserving  in  a  perfect  form  the  illustrious  career 
of  Charles  Stewart  Parnell.  A  life  so  full  of  self- 
sacrifice  for  his  countrymen,  so  devoted  to  the 
fundamental  principle  essential  for  manhood  and 
progress — self-government,  self-control — in  a 
word,  home  rule,  for  the  man  and  the  nation, 
cannot  be  adequately  portrayed. 

The  man  who  teaches  this  principle  as  Parnell 
did,  loses  the  slaves  of  his  will  and  the  servants 
of  his  pride,  but  gains  the  confidence  of  true 
men,  and  the  love  and  esteem  of  all  mankind. 
It  may  be  a  loss  of  ease,  it  may  be  a  loss  of  posi- 
tion, it  may  be  a  loss  of  property,  but  it  is  a  gain 
of  manhood,  a  broadening  of  the  intellectual 
sympathies,  an  enlargement  of  the  spirit  of  bro- 
therly love.  These  principles,  properly  set  in  the 
heart  and  life  of  man,  cannot  fail  to  produce  action. 
Let  not  the  proud  and  lofty  skeptic  say  it  is  for 
effect — hypocrisy — let  him  give  us  the  same  and 
we  will  believe  there  is  a  heart  of  love  for  man 
that  prompts  and  inspires  to  such  noble  acts  of 
self-sacrifice  and  duty.     You  cannot  have  these 


PREFACE. 

consecrated  lives  for  mankind  from  a  selfish  and 
proud  spirit.     Can  we  appreciate  the  devotion  of 
Washington  and  Lincoln  to  the  cause  of  mankind  ? 
So  then  we  may.  appreciate  Swift,  Flood,  Grattan, 
O'Connell,  Parnell.     These  leaders  of  the  race 
struck  for  life,  liberty,  equality  and  opportunity  for 
all  men ;  they  have  not  yet  gained  the  victory. 
Brave  must  be  the  men  who  seeing  every   ef- 
fort of  their  forerunners  defeated — some  meet- 
ing death  by  cruel  tortures,  others  exhausted  in 
the  strife— with  hearts   that  never  fail,  take  up 
the  banner  of  truth  and  cry,  **  All  men  are  born 
free  and  equal,"  entitled  at  birth  to  equal  oppor- 
tunities  of   life,    liberty   and   happiness.      Why 
should  the  race  be  taxed  to  support  the  son  or 
daughter  of  royalty  ?    If  elected  to  serve  the  peo- 
ple they  should  be  paid  a  salary  for  the  service 
until  their  term  expires  or  they  prove  unfaithful. 
But  why  should  the  people  be  taxed  to  support 
the  example  of  gambling,  drunkenness  and  what 
is  worse  ?   It  is  only  a  God-fearing,  government- 
loving  people  that  will  stand  these  things  that 
they  may  escape  bloody  revolution. 

But  it  is  a  peaceful  revolution  that  is  going  on 
iii  Great  Britain  and  extending  East.  The  king- 
doms of  this  world  are  to  be  the  kingdoms  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Every  man  is  to  be  clothed 
and  in  his  right  mind,  and  to  cast  his  ballot  for 
those  who  make  the  laws  that  govern  his  own 
country. 


JPREFACE. 

If  any  desire  to  make  the  laws  for  the  country 
in  which  I  live  they  must  come  and  live  with  me 
under  those  laws,  The  right  I  claim  for  myself  I 
must  grant  to  others:  if  I  wish  laws  made  by 
myself  and  my  fellow-countrymen  to  govern  me, 
then  why  should  I  think  others  incapable  of  self- 
government,  when  they  are,  and  have  been  strug- 
gling for  it  and  demand  it  ? 

The  leader  of  this  party  in  Ireland,  Charles 
Stewart  Parnell,  and  William  E.  Gladstone,  in 
England,  have  given  to  this  movement  an  impulse 
which  makes  it  nearer  realization  than  at  any  time 
in  its  history.  The  effect  will  be  to  lessen  the 
burdens  of  the  industrial  classes,  by  legislation 
more  favorable  to  the  toilers,  and  to  lessen  the 
opportunity  of  the  royal  classes  for  excessive 
luxury  and  debauch,  taking  from  them  the  hours 
of  lounging  in  heated  rooms,  eating  exciting  food, 
without  the  exercise  of  hand  and  brain,  and 
giving  them  the  glorious  opportunity — the  oppor- 
tunity of  necessity  to  do  something  for  themselves 
that  will  produce  both  brawn  and  brain,  then  life 
will  be  worth  living. 

Alas !  these  extremes,  suffering  at  both  ends, 
one  starving  for  bread,  the  other  decaying  from 
excess^  of  stimulants,  without  proper  exercise, 
the  bearers  of  the  burdens  grinding  and  crying, 
good  Lord,  deliver  us,  for  they  are  very  great.  .  It 
is  to  remove  these  excrescences  from  the  body 
politic  that  so  many  of  our  brave  men  and  noble 


PREFACE. 

women  have  died  at  the  stake,  on  the  field  of 
battle,  or  fell,  exhausted  in  the  conflict.  Parnell's 
sun  does  not  set  because  a  cloud  for  a  time  came 
between  him  and  the  people  whom  he  lived  for 
and  loved.  The  race,  especially  the  Anglo  Saxon, 
never  has  allowed  the  men  who  served  it  well, 
to  perish.  We  must  preserve  the  Hves  of  those 
who  have  made  sacrifice  for  the  welfare  of  others. 
In  this  laudable  undertaking,  Robert  McWade 
is  to  be  encouraged  and  congratulated. 

Rev.  J.  GRAY  BOLTON. 
1906  Pine  Street, 

Philadelphia^  Oct  22y  i8gi. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 
Ireland  Mourns  the  Death  of  Charles  Stewart  Parnell — 
His  Birth  and  Ancestry — Anecdote  of  his  College  Days.    1 7 

CHAPTER  II. 
Mrs.  Delia  Tudor  Stewart  Parnell' s  Interesting  Reminis- 
cences— Lovely  Women  in  the  Puritanic  Times — The 
Revolutionary  Soldier  and  the  Fair  Loyalist — ^The 
Ministering  Angel  at  the  Gates  of  Boston — The  Belle 
of  the  Hub  Charms  the  Sons  of  George  the  Third — 
'*  Old  Ironsides'*  and  His  Deeds  of  Heroism— Congress 
and  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  mark  their  appreciation  of 
His  Valor  .   ,   , , 24 

CHAPTER  III. 

My  Mother  and  Father's  Marriage— "  Old  Ironsides"  is 
Court-martialed  for  Violating  the  Neutrality  Laws — 
Mrs.  D.  T.  S.  Parnell's  Early  Life  and  Companions— 
Her  Marriage  to  Parnell 37 

CHAPTER  IV. 
In  the  Vale  of  Avoca— Birth  of  Six  Daughters  and  Five 
Sons  at  Avondale,  in  the  County  Wicklow— The  Wed- 
ding of  Mrs.  Claude-Paget 4^ 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Loving  Mother  and  Her  Patriot  Son— Incidents  of 

the  Hero's  Early  Life— His  Classical  Education— The 

Strong  Traits  of  His  Manly  Character — His  Love  of 

William  O'Brien—The  Letter  sent  after  the  Celebrated 


CONTENTS. 

Boulogne  Controversy — Cause  of  Mr.  Parnell's  Strong 
Admiration  of  Mrs.  O'Shea — The  Sustaining  Force  of 
Sympathy — Plans  for  the  Amelioration  of  the  Con- 
dition of  the  Irish  Race, at  Home    . 50 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Literary  Attainments  of  the  Misses  Fanny  and  Anna 
Parnell— Mrs.  D.  T.  S.  Parnell's  Own  Public  Services 
in  this  Country  and  Elsewhere — Something  about  Her 
Present  Home  at  ''Old  Ironsides,"  Bordentown,  N. 
J. — Why  She  Remains  on  the  Old  Homestead — A 
Life  of  Sacrifice  and  of  Continuous  Self-denial  ,    ...     57 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Anna  and  Fanny  Parnell's  Work — ^Anna's  Gallant  De- 
fiance of  the  Coercion  Government's  Edicts — Her 
Wit,  Beauty,  and  Courage — Her  Belief  that  Michael 
Davitt  Hated  Her  ''Brother  Charlie"— Fanny's  Love 
of  Her  Native  Land— Her  Poems,  fuUof  Patriotic  Fer- 
vor, Rouse  Erin's  Sons  and  Daughters — ^The  Passionate 
Priestess  of  Liberty's  Creed 70 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Patriot's  Career — His  Public  History  and  Inner 
Life— Grip  and  Grit— What  the  Hon.  T.  P.  O'Connor 
"Says  about  Him  and  the  Marvellous  Hold  He  Exer- 
cised over  Men — ^The  Juggernaut  of  Parnell's  Fortunes 
and  Genius — He  Never  Had  Confidants   ......     85 

CHAPTER  IX. 
An  Interesting  Anecdote— Some  Things  about  Isaac 
Butt  and  O'Connell  That  Are  Well  Told— Elections 
That  Proved  Incontestably  that  the  Land  League 
Movement  Was  Wholly  Unsectarian — ^Joseph  G.  Big- 
gar,  the  Celebrated  Obstructionist— Americans  in  the 
Movement 106 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  X. 
Corrupting  Political  Opponents — Some  DetestabTe  British 
Methods — ^What  the  Struggling  Irish  Were  Able  to  Pay 
Their  Patriotic  Representatives — How  Shaw  Was  De- 
posed and  Parnell  Put  in  the  Saddle-^Reform  of  Land 
Tenure    ,   , , 134 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Coercion  in  Full  Swing — Newspapers  Intimidated — 
Whole  Branches  of  the  League  Suppressed  and  Their 
Members  Imprisoned — Ladies  and  Children  of  Tender 
Years  Arrested  by  the  Royal  Irish  Constabulary — 
Starving  Tenants  Driven  from  their  Homes — ^The 
Famine  of  1879 — Peasantry  Dying  by  Thousands — 
Scenes  of  Horror  that  Pen  cannot  Adequately  Portray,  159 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Spreading  the  Light  of  the  Land  League  Gospel — Amer- 
icans Take  Hold  and  Aid  the  Movement  Financially 
and  Otherwise — The  Famous  ''No  Rent"   Manifesto 
— A  Document  from  Kilmainham  Prison  .,,.,..   172 

CHAPTER  XIIL 

Pushing  on  the  Work — The  Ranks  of  the  Land  League 
Receive  Fresh  Accessions  of  Earnest  Laborers  in  the 
Cause — A  Specimen  Brick  of  the  Humors  of  a  Cam- 
paign— ''APeople*s  Hunt"  and  its  Remarkable  Ac- 
cessories— Children  of  Tender  Years  and  Ladies  are 
Arrested  on  the  Most  Frivolous  of  Pretexts — ^The  Mur- 
der of  Lord  Frederick  Cavendish  and  Thomas  Henry 
Burke,  the  Irish  Under-Secretary   ,.,,,,,..  184 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Denouncing  the  Phoenix  Park  Murders — Charles  Stewart 
Parnell,  John  Dillon,  and  Michael  Davitt  Issue  an 
Address  to  the  People  of  Ireland — Mr.  Sexton  and 


CONTENTS. 

Others  of  the  Leaders  in  the  Irish  Parliamentary  Party 
Outspoken  in  Denunciation  of  the  Dastardly  Deed — 
The  London  Times  Publishes  a  Forged  Letter  At- 
tributed to  Parnell — Other  Forged  Documents  follow 
it  ... 191 

CHAPTER  XV. 

"Parnell  and  Crime** — Exciting  Scenes  before  the 
Special  Commission  Sitting  in  the  Royal  Courts  of 
Justice  in  London — Desperate  Attempts  to  Fasten  the 
Stigma  of  Crime  on  the  Nation's  Uncrowned  King — 
The  Special  Commission  Act — The  Attorney-General's 
Indictment 199 

CHAPTER  XVL 
Opening  Scenes  in  the  Court — Preliminary  Legal  Sparring 
by  the  Counsel  on  Either  Side — Orders  Given  by  the 
Commission   for  the  Release  from  Jail  of  the  Hons. 
John  Dillon  and  William  Redmond 222 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
Captain  O'Shea  on  the  Stand — An  Exhibition  of  Cheek 
and  Imbecility — How  the  Gallant  Captain  Conducted 
Negotiations  under  Mr.  Parnell's  Guidance — O'Shea's 
Alleged  Connection  with  the  Kilmainham  Treaty— 
What  He  Thought  He  Knew  about  a  Cabinet  Meeting.  235 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
"My  Dear  Mr.  O'Shea"— Why  Mr.  Parnell  Deferred 
Michael  Davitt's  Release  from  Prison^The  Sheridan 
Difficulty — ^Acknowledgment  that  the  Phoenix  Park 
Murder  Affected  Mr.  Parnell's  Health— **  Parnell 
Looked  Dispirited" — ^Captain  O'Shea's  Anxiety  to 
get  off  on  "  a  Business  Trip  "to  Madrid — The  Court 
Declares  How  It  will  Deal  with  His  Evidence.  .    .   w    258 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
When  O'Shea  Heard  the  Slanders — Gossip  about  Con- 
versations with  Morley,  Chamberlain,  Buckle,  Houston 
and   Others — What   he   Knew    about    "  Dirty    Dick 
Pigott" 280 

CHAPTER  XX. 
O' Shea's  Resignation — The  Phoenix  Park  Murders  Dis- 
cussed— Byrne's  Connection  with  Them — Mulqueeny's 
Statements 287 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Advanced  Nationalists — What  Position  They  Took  on 
the  League  Questions — New  Names    Introduced    by 
Captain  O'Shea — A  Talk  about  a  Testimonial — Hostil- 
ity of  the  Land  League  to  O'Shea 300 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
Chamberlain's  Local  Government  Scheme — ^Anxiety  for 
Its  Adoption — The  Land  Bill  and  the  Healy  Clause — 
Communications  with  Mr.  Gladstone — The  Arrears' 
Bill— O' Shea's  Testimony  about  the  Forged  Letters — 
After  Events  Show  How  Valueless  It  Was — An  In- 
teresting Question  or  Two  about  Police  Protection  for 
Parnell  and  O'Shea— *'  William  Henry  "  O'Shea  Takes 
Issue  with  Secretary  Forster 312 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
The  Infamous  Le  Caron — He  Tells  the  Story  of  His 
Public  Career  and  Acknowledges  that  His  Real  Name 
is  Thomas  Willis  Beach — Where  and  When  He  Joined 
the  Fenian  Organization — Beginning  His  Detestable 
Work  as  a  Spy  and  Informer — The  Fenians  Appoint 
Him  *f  Military  Organizer  of  the  United  States  "—The 
Invasion  of  Canada — Le  Caron  "Posts"  the  Cana- 
dian Government — He  Practices  Medicine  in  Braid- 
wood,  Near  Chicago,  Illinois 338 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Le  Caron  Joins  the  United  Brotherhood — ^Alexander 
Sullivan,  of  Chicago,  Proposes  Him  for  Membership — 
The  Clan-na-Gael  and  Other  Secret  Organizations — 
Translating  the.  Clan-na-Gael' s  Secret  Cipher  for  the 
Edification  of  the  Royal  Commission  . 344 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
Objects  of  the  ''V.  C." — Senior  Guardian  Le  Caron 
Tells  the  Secret  Plans  of  -  the  Executive  Body — He 
Attempts  to  Connect  Parnell,  Healy,  Dillon  and  Other 
Members  of  the  Irish  Parliamentary  Party  with  the 
^*V.  C." — ^The  Proposed  Inauguration  of  a  New 
System  of  Warfare 348 

.    CHAPTER  XXVI. 
The  Lomasney-Gallagher  Incidents — They  Are  Brought 
to  the  Attention  of  a  Secret  Convention  of  the  Clan- 
na-Gael — Changes  of  the  Executive  Body 361 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
The  Executive  Body — Le  Caron  Gives  the  Names  of  Its 
Members — -The  Number  of  Men  in  the  Organisation — 
He  Describes  the  Secret  Oath  Which  He  Took  and 
Deliberately  Violated — **JFriends  "  from  Whom  He 
Obtained  Information — O' Donovan  Rossa  Ceases  to  be 
a  Factor 365 

CHAPTER  XXVIIL 

The  Influential  Men— Le  Caron  Tells  What  He  Knows 
of  Their  Public  and  Private  History — Some  Decent 
Men's  Names  in  a  Ruffian's  Mouth 373 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

How  Le  Caron  was  paid — The  British  Government's 
Blood  Money  as  a  Reward  for  Infamy— Le  Caron's 
*' Arrangements  "  and  Expenditures 382 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

The  Forged  Letters — ^The  Times  Attorney,  Soames,  Tells 
How  Much  Was  Paid  to  ''Dirty  Dick  Pigott'*  for  Them 
— ^An  Exhibition  of  Imbecility  and  Recklessness  on  the 
Part  of  the  Times  Management — What  Secretary  Hous- 
ton's Cross-Examination  Revealed  .   i   *   .   .   .   .   .   .  386 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 
The  End  of  "Dirty  Dick'  '-—The  Wretch's  Letters  to  Arch- 
Bishop  Walsh  Produced  in  Court — Pigott  Wants  to  Sell 
Out  to  Both  Sides — Coincidences  in  His  Handwriting 
and  Spelling — He  Admits  that  He  Was  a  Deliberate 
Falsifier — His  Confession  to  Henry  Labouchere — ^A 
Coward's  Flight  and  a  Coward's  Death— The  O'Shea 
Divorce  Case— Mrs.  O' Shea's  Illustrious  Ancestry — 
Her  Love  for  Ireland — Calls  for  Parnell's  Retirement — 
Envoys  Sent  to  America  .............    396 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 
The  Famous  Boulogne  Conference — ^The   Negotiations 
between  Parnell's  Lieutenants  and  Those  Who  Repre- 
sented Justin  McCarthy — Meeting  of  Charles  Stewart 
^Parnell  and  William  O'Brien— Organization   of  the 
'  Irish  National  Federation— Pamell  Marries  Mrs.  O'Shea  408 

CHAPTER  XXXlri. 
The  Last  Sad  Scene — ^A  Nation  Mourning  for  Its  Dead 
Chieftain— The  Pamell  Funeral— Interment  of  "The 
Uncrowned  King "  in  Glasnevin  ,..*..   ^   .   ,    419 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

Charles  Stewart  Parnell  (steel),  .    .    .  Frontispiece. 

Rob't  M.   McWade, i5 

Mrs.   Delia  S.  Parnell, 21 

Mrs.  Claude  Paget, 39 

avondale, 47 

Miss  Fanny  Parnell, 59 

Hon.  T.  p.  O'Connor,  M.  P., S7 

Destitute  Fishermen, , 89 

Evicted — Homeless, 91 

Henry  Grattan 99 

Grattan*s  Parliament, .100 

Isaac  Butte. — ^J.  G.  Biggar, 109 

Joseph  Chamberlain. — T.  Brennan, iii 

Life  in   Ireland, 127 

Celebrating  Mass  in  a  .Cabin, 129 

Dr.  K.  O'Doherty, 137 

Thomas  Sexton. — W.  H.  O' Sullivan, 139 

T.  M.  Healy. — Justin  McCarthy, 140 

John  Morley. — Sir  W.  V.  Harcourt, 150 

Daniel  O'Connell, 157 

The   Obnoxious   Process-Server, 161 

Evicted — Driven  from  the  House  We  Built,  .  163 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Scene  in  Ireland — A  Farmer's  Cabin,  ....  i66 

Drinking  His  Honor's  Health, 170 

No  Rent, 175 

Michael  Davitt, 187 

John  Dillon. — Geo.  J.  Goschen^  .    .    .    .    .    .    .212 

Patrick   Egan. — Alexander   Sullivan,  .    .    .    .216 

James  Reynolds. — John  Boyle  O'Reilly,  .    .    .  224 

A.  M.  Sullivan. — T.  S.  Sullivan, 229 

W.  Redmond. — J.  E.  Redmond,  . 239 

Lord  R.  Churchill. — Lord  Hartington,  .  .  .  264 
Lord  Spencer. — Hon.  G.  O.  Trevelyan,  ....  276 
Michael  J.  Redding. — Miles  M.  O'Brien,.  .  .  292 
Col.  John  F.  Armstrong. — Patrick  Martin,  .  .  308 
Patrick  A.  Collins. — Thomas  Flatley,  ....  334 

James  Mooney.— -John  J.  Hynes, 346 

Rev.  Patrick  Cronin. — ^John  F.  Finerty  ,    .    .    .355 

John  Fitzgerald. — John  P.  Sutton 363 

Roger  Walsh. — ^Judge  Michael  Cooney,     .    .    .371 

M.  J.  Ryan.— E.  Johnson, •    •  379 

Rev.  Maurice  J.  Dorney. — M.  D.  Gallagher,    .  388 

Col.  W.  p.  Rend. — John  Groves, 400 

Meeting  of  Land  League, 410 

Mrs.  O'Shea  Parnell, 413 

William  EwART  Gladstone  (steel), .430 

Gladstone's  Speech  for  Home  Rule, 439 


ROBERT  M.  McWADE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

How  oft  has  the  Banshee  cried  I 
How  oft  has  Death  untied 
Bright  links  that  Glory  wove, 
Sweet  bonds  entwined  by  love  ! 
Peace  to  each  manly  soul  that  sleepeth  i 
Rest  to  each  faithful  eye  that  weepeth  1 
Long  may  the  fair  and  brave 
Sigh  o'er  the  hero's  grave. 

We're  fall'n  upon  gloomy  days ; 

Star  after  star  decays : 

Ev'ry  bright  name,  that  shed 

Light  o'er  the  land,  is  fled. 

Dark  falls  the  tear  of  him  who  moumeth 

Lost  joy  or  hope,  that  ne'er  returneth  j 

But  brightly  flows  the  tear 

Wept  o'er -the  hero's  bier ! 

Oh !  quench'd  are  our  beacon-lights, 
Thou,  of  the  hundred  fights ! 
Thou,  on  whose  burning  tongue 
Truth,  peace,  and  freedom,  hung  I 
Both  mute — but,  long  as  Valour  shineth, 
Or  Mercy's  soul  at  war  repineth, 
So  long  shall  Erin's  pride^     '     . 
Tell  how  they  lived  and  died  ! 

As  the  immortal  poet,  Tom  Moore,  apostro- 
phized *'Con  of  the  .Hundred  Fights,"  an  ancient 
Irish  warrior  whose  victories  the  harpists  and 
sagamores  of  the  Insula  Sanctorum  et  Doctorum 
also  lauded  in  song  and  story,  so  do  we,  the  ex- 
patriated sons  of  the  Clan-na-Gael,  mourn  the 
loss  of  our  matchless  hero, '  Charles  Stewart 
17 


1 8  ^      CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Parnell.  Tears  for  his  death,  sighs  over  his 
grave,  sad,  fond  and  lasting  remembrances  in  the 
hearts  of  his  people  of  his  patriotism,  his  indom- 
itable energy,  and  his  glorious  and  hard-won 
victories,  are  the  tributes  paid  the  wide  world 
over  to  his  memory — one  of  the  greatest  apostles 
of  human  liberty  that  ever  graced  God's  footstool. 
When  the  news  of  his  sudden  death  was  flashed 
to  the  New  World  by  the  Atlantic  Cable,  it  was 
received  with  mingled  expressions  of  fear  and  in- 
credulity. Not  a  word  of  his  illness  had  reached 
either  his  friends  or  his  enemies.  Like  all  great 
men,  he  had  many  of  both.  Doubt  soon  gave  way 
to  certainty,  as  the  startling  announcement 
posted  on  the  bulletin  boards  of  the  newspapers 
throughout  the  country  was  supplemented  by 
corroboratory  despatches  from  some  of  his  Irish 
Parliamentary  colleagues.  The  great  Leader  was 
no  more.  His  name,  so  magnetic  in  the  cause  of 
his  beloved  country,  had  how  become  a  memory. 
Later  intelligence  told  us  that  he  had  died  at  his 
summer  home,  Walsingham  Terrace,  Brighton, 
England,  at  half-past  eleven  o'clock  on  Tuesday 
night,  Otcober  6,  1891,  of  rheumatic  fever,  hyper- 
pyrexia and  failure  of  the  heart's  action,  at  least 
so  declared  the  certificate  of  the  surgeons,  not 
physicians,  who  were  called  in  to  attend  him. 
These  surgeons  are  R.  J.  Jowers,  pere  et  fils,  men 
of  some  admittedly  local  reputation  in  Brighton. 
He  died  in  the  arms  of  the  woman  he  loved,  Mrs. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  1 9 

Pariiell.  Mr.  Parnell's  step-daughter,  Miss  O'Shea, 
the  elder  Mr.  Jowers  and  a  faithful  Irish  servant 
girl  were  the  only  persons  present  at  the  end. 
He  had  been  in  bed  since  the  previous  Friday, 
suffering  very  great  pain,  but  no  one  thought  he 
was  in  danger  of  death. 

Before  I  quote  Mr.  Parnell's  intimate  col- 
leagues, my  own  personal  friends,  on  his  character 
and  attributes,  it  is  ehiinently  proper  that  this 
biography  of 

THE   UNCROWNED    KING 

should  tell  my  readers  what  I  have  learned  of  his 
birth  and  ancestry.  He  was  the  fourth  son  of 
John  Henry  and  Delia  Tudor  Parnell,  and  was 
born  at  Avondale,  County  Wicklow,  Ireland,  in 
June,  1846.  In  his  early  life  he  studied  under 
Protestant  Episcopal  clergymen  in  Oxfordshire 
and  Derbyshire.  He  studied  at  Cambridge,  and 
cL  characteristic  anecdote  is  related  of  his  career 
at  the  University  :  \Vhen  he  was  an  undergraduate 
at  Magdalen  College  he  was  caught  in  some  pec- 
cadillo by  one  of  the  proctors  and  his  **  bulldog.'* 
He  promptly  knocked  down  the  "bulldog"  and 
ran  for  home.  He  thought  he  had  been  recog- 
nized, and  feared  that  he  would  ht  suspended  for 
a  year,  so  he  went  to.  an  old  fellow  who  kept  a 
chemist's  store  opposite  the  gate  of  Magdalen 
College,  and  asked  him  if  He  could  imitate  a  black 
eye. 


20  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

'^Well,  Mr.  Parnell,  I  might,  but  I  can't  put  It 
on  in  fast  colors/' 

''  But  I  must  have  a  black  eye." 

''Well,  sir,"  the  old  chemist  replied,  ''the  only 
way  I  knows  of  is  the  old-fashioned  one." 

"All  right,"  said  Parnell,  "  let  her~go."  There- 
upon the  embryo  Irish  statesman  braced  himself, 
and  the  old  fellow  let  him  have  it  straight  and  hard 
between  the  two  eyes.  The  next  morning  young 
Parnell  had  not  only  one,  but  two  beautiful  eyes 
of  the'desired  color.  When  he  was  hauled  up 
before  the  Dean  of  the  college  for  his  encounter 
with  and  ill  treatment  of  the  "bulldog,"  Parnell 
claimed  that  it  was  he  himself,  on  the  contrary, 
who  had  been  subjected  to  ill  treatment  and  who 
had  got  the  worst  of  it ;  and  as  he  looked  as  if  he 
had,  the  Dean  let  him  off  scott  free,  reprimanding 
the  "bulldog"  for  being  too  free  with  his  fists. 
His  pluck  and  readiness  of  wit  thus  served  him 
in  good  stead,  as  they  likewise  did  at  subsequent 
portions  of  his  career. 

•There's  scarcely  a  man  or  woman,  in  this 
country,  interested  in  any  way  in  the  desperate 
struggle  made  by  Ireland's  distinguished  son  and 
his  courageous  and  able  lieutenants,  inside  and 
outside,  for  that  matter,  of  the  Irish  Parliamentary 
Party,  who  has  not  seen  or  heard  his  noble  mother, 
Mrs.  Delia  Tudor  Stewart  Parnell,  discussing 
v/ith  the  people  of  the  great  cities  of  the  United 
States  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  the  Irish  nation, 


MRS.   DF.l.IA  S.   PARNKl-L. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  23 

Her  words  were  always  full  of  life,  of  force,  of 
energy,  and  her  appearance  was  greeted  every- 
where with  storms  of  applause.  A  few  words  from 
her  own  lips  as  to  her  personal  experiences  in  **the 
great  struggle  "  and  the  ancestry  of  her  family 
will,  I  know,  be  most  agreeable  reading.  Here^ 
is  what  she  says  of  herself  and  her  family : 


CHAPTER  II. 

FAMILY   REMINISCENCES. 

The  Tudors  hailed  from  Wales.  The  first 
member  of  this  family  that  ever  came  to  this 
country  was  undoubtedly,  as  I  heard  from  my 
grandmother,  Delia  Tudor,  a  Colonel  Tudor  in  the 
British  Army,  during  the  time  of  the  American 
Colonies.  He  is  said — although  I  will  not  vouch 
for  the  accuracy  of  the  statement — to  have  bought 
all  the  land  on  which  South  Boston  is  now  located. 
His  widow  disagreed  with  her  husband's  relatives, 
and  embarking  at  Plymouth,  Devonshire,  can^.  i  to 
Boston  with  her  only  son,  John.  In  those  days 
every  one  did  something  to  get  a  little  means,  to 
buy  a  few  delicacies  and  some  necessities,  both  of 
which  were  scarce.  Mrs.  Tudor  had  learned  in 
Wales  to  make  white  breakfast  rolls,  an  accom- 
plishment of  which  she  seemed  to  be  ^  the  sole 
possessor  in  her  vicinity.  Her  fame  in  this  capacity 
soon  spread,  and  iDy  selling  her  rolls  among  her 
friends  and  neighbors  she  provided  herself  with  all 
necessary  money,  and  no  doubt  introduced  the  art 
of  first-class  bread  baking  in  Boston. 

My  grandfather,  William  Tudor,  was  son  to  this 
boy,  John  Tudor.  He,  John  Tudor,  married  a 
24 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  25 

very  remarkable  woman,  dark-haired,  dai-k-eyed, 
handsome,  dignified,  full  of  character  and  intel- 
ligence. John  Tudor  had  also  a  beautiful  sister, 
Elizabeth,  who  married  a  Mr.  Thomas.  Their 
married  life  was  quite  unhappy,  and  she  died 
young. 

My  great-grandfather,  John  Tudor,  was  very 
close, — in  fact,  miserly  and  penurious, — but  per- 
haps excusable  in  part  for  it,  on  account  of  the  hard- 
ships he  and  his  mother  had  to  undergo  in  their  early 
struggles,  which  taught  him  the  value  of  money* 
His  love  of  the  "almighty  dollar'*  would  doubt- 
less have  deprived  his  own  family  of  many  neces- 
saries of  life,  had  not  that  excellent  woman,  by  her 
intelligent  management,  been  able  to  maintain  and 
educate  her  children,  to  whom  she  was  a  devoted 
mother,  self-sacrificing  and  generous  to  a  fault. 
Her  memory  is  revered  by  all  her  descendants. 
Her  portrait  in  oil  is  preserved  by  the  Tudors  in 
Boston. 

Her  excellent  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  were 
strongly  impressed  upon  her  son,  William  Tudor, 
my  grandfather.  His  public  life  and  services  have 
given  his  name  honorable  mention  in  many  Bio- 
graphical Dictionaries,  where  the  reader  may  look 
them  up,  if  desired  ;  but  they  do  not  tell  his  daily 
and  extraordinary  excellencies.  He  was  a  devoted 
son,  son-in-law,  brother,  husband  and  father.  He 
married  a  half-orphan,  Delia  Jarvis,  who  is  said  to 
have  been  of  Huguenot  ancestry,  of  which  Lord 


26  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Pomfret  was  the  chief.  She  was  a  sprightly, 
beautiful  and  highly  accomplished  woman.  She 
wrote  poetry  with  facility,  and  was  a  skillful 
musician  and  a  lovely  singer.  At  the  age  of  ninety 
she  still  sang  sweetly.  She  was  a  delightful  con- 
versationalist, full  of  intelligence,  anecdote  and 
wit,  with  a  wonderful  memory.  Her  hair  was 
dark  auburn,  her  eyes  deep  blue,  her  face  lovely 
and  beaming  with  kind  feeling  for  every  one.  Her 
superb  and  erect  figure  retained  its  commanding 
grace  to  old  age.  Indeed,  when  she  had  passed 
her  ninety-first  birthday  she  was  one  day  walking 
down  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  in  Washington,  when 
a  gentleman  walking  behind  her  expressed  to  his 
companion  a  desire  to  see  the  face  to  which  that 
exquisite  figure  belonged.  Imagine  his  surprise 
when  she  suddenly  turned  back,  and  lo !  it  was  that 
of  his  old  friend,  Mrs.  Tudor. 

No  doubt  her  great  age  was  attained  and 
remarkable  health  preserved  by  the  care  that  had 
been  taken  of  her,  and  the  sunny,  happy  disposition 
with  which  she  met  and  looked  upon  everything. 
Boston  was  much  of  a  seafaring  town  in  those 
days,  and  her  father,  Mr.  Jarvis,  was  so  careful  of 
her  that  she  was  not  permitted  to  even  look  out  of 
the  window  on  certain  occasions,  lest  she  should 
see  a  drunken  man  or  brawl.  (I  had  never  seen 
a  drunken  man,  either,  until  I  married  and  went 
to  live  in  Ireland,  and  could  not  for  a  long  time 
discover  when  a  man  was  drunk.) 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  .  2^ 

My  grandmother  sang  and  danced. naturally,  I 
always  thought  because  she  had  French  spirits. 
Many  are  the  old  Revolutionary  songs  she  sang 
me,  and  the  wonderful  stories  she  told  me.  One 
ran  thus  : 

A  bow  which  from  campaign  he  brought. 
Herself  and  all  beholders  taught, 
Though  her  the  fairest  nymph  he  thought 
Of  all  that  graced  the  plain. 

Another  ran  : 

Pretty  little  Cupid, 
Give  thy  bow  a  twang, 
Smk  it  in  her  bosom, 
Let  her  feel  some  pain, 
Then  she'll  be  delighted 
To  be  loved  again. 

She  had  also  picked  up  some  sailors'  songs  as  the 
sailors  passed  through  the  streets  and  sang,  though 
she  could  not  look  out  at  the  window. 

One  of  her  own  poems  which  made  an  impres- 
sion upon  my  sympathetic,  childish  mind  I  remem- 
ber. Some  one  had  caged  some  birds  and  hung 
them  up  out  of  the  way  of  the  rats  in  the  dining- 
room,  but  one  after  the  other  was  killed  until  only 
one  was  left, — -the  one  hanging  highest  on  the  wall. 
Every  morning  as  the  people  came  in  to  breakfast 
it  would  pipe  plaintively,  evidently  pleading  to  be 
removed,  but  this  was  not  understood  until  one 
morning  its  little  cage  was  found  empty,  and 
grandmother  wrote : 

Poor  little  bird  !  thy  plaintive  call, 
Each  morning  reached  the  ear. 
"  Take  me !  oh,  take  me  from  this  wall. 
My  mortal  foe  is  near." 


28  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Thus  spoke  each  day  thy  note  discreet, 
Had  it  been  understood 

Kindness  had  sent  thee  forth  to  greet 
Thy  kindred  in  the  wood. 


Many  who  linger  here  below 

Surrounded  by  the  good, 
Alas !  till  death  has  laid  them  low 

Are  never  understood. 

She  also  wrote  some  patriotic  pieces,  which  were 
published,  but  generally  without  identity  as  to  the 
author.  Her  nature  was  to  accomplish  good  with- 
out personal  notoriety.  Such  a  contribution  was 
published  in  the  Continental  Intelligencer  on  the 
occasion  of  the  old  Revolutionary  soldiers  assem- 
bled in  the  Capitol  to  hear  John  Quincy  Adams' 
Fourth  of  July  oration.     It  began : 

Yes,  brave  old  men,  the  story  of  to-day, 

By  one  whose  life-blood  flowed  from  patriot  veins,  etc. 

My  mother,  entirely  ignorant  of  the  authorship, 
brought  in  the  paper,  saying,  "  I  rarely  see  a  piece 
of  POETRY  in  the  newspapers,  but  here  at  last  is 
one,*^*  and  much  to  my  grandmother^s  amusement 
and  delight  read  the  verses. 

When  a  girl,  Delia  Jarvis,  she  was  so  fond  of 
dancing,  that  notwithstanding  the  Puritan  ideas  of 
the  times,  she  was  one  Sunday  caught  dancing  a 
Regodoon  to  the  air  and  words  of 

Neighbor,  neighbor,  lend  me  your  purse. 

And  I'll  lend  you  mine  to-morrow. 
Neighbor,  neighbor,  keep  your  purse, 

I  ndther  lend  nor  borrow. 


CHARLES  STEWART  FAltNELL.  29 

Her  oldest  daughter,  Emma,  married  Robert 
Hallowell  Gardiner,  of  Maine.  He  took  his 
mother's  name,  Gardiner,  aftfer  his  father's,  on 
account  of  the  property  left  him  through  her.  His 
father  was  a  near  relative  of  Sir  Benjamin  Hal- 
lowell, of  the  British  Navy,  and  was  one  of  the 
Commissioners  sent  by  the  Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts to  represent  the  cause  of  the  discontented 
States  and  Colonies  before  the  British  Govern- 
ment. During  his  absence  the  war  began  and 
the  first  battles  of  the  Revolution  were  fought. 
Mr.  Hallowell  had  immense  landed  estates  in 
Maine,  and  prudently  remained  away  on  leave  of 
absence  until  he  could  safely  return,  swear  al- 
legiance to  the  new  Government,  and  thus  save  his 
extensive  property. 

My  grandfather,  William  Tudor,  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier,  and  used  to  write  to  my  grand- 
mother from  the  battlefields  as  '*  My  fair  loyalist," 
(as  she  was  opposed  to  the  war),  and  subscribe 
himself  at  the  close  as  ''Your  ever  faithful  rebel." 
Later,  however,  she  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
''Faithful  rebel." 

On  account  of  the  Revolutionary  War  the 
engagement  between  my  grandparents  lasted 
seven  years.  While  he  was  in  the  army,  first  with 
General  Lee  and  then  on  the  staff  of  General 
Washington.  He  was  also  Judge,  Advocate-Gen- 
eral of  the  Revolutionary  Army,  as  he  was  a 
lawyer,  trained  in  the  offiee  with  John  Adams, 


30  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL, 

His  legal  papers  and  books  were  burned  at  Wash- 
ington by  the  British.  He  was  opposed  to  all 
ideas  of  federation,  and  believed  only  in  the  com- 
plete independence  of  this  country.  Personally, 
while  so  good,  he  was  impetuous  and  sometimes 
absent-minded.  A  story  is  told  of  him,  that  on  one 
occasion  when  a  disagreeable  visitor  was  an- 
nounced, he  fled  into  the  garden,  but  right  through 
the  glass  of  a  door  which  he  forgot  to  open.  I 
spoke  in  the  preceding  pages  of  his  being  a  good 
son  in-law, — something  remarkable  for  a  special 
fondness  to  exist  in  this  relationship,  but  it  was  so 
with  him.  He  gave  his  mother-in-law  a  beautiful 
country  home,  and  I  had  among  letters  preserved 
by  my  grandmother  some  to  her  while  he  was 
in  Europe,  in  which  he  speaks  of  his  desire  to  have 
the  grounds  beautifully  arranged  and  planted  for 
her.  She  was  then  the  widow  of  Captain  Young. 
He  also  spoke  of  the  presents  he  had  collected 
for  the  family. 

On  this  tour  he  journeyed  through  Ireland  on 
his  way  to  England  and  to  Europe,  and  his  obser- 
vations led  him  to  predict  the  Irish  rebellion  of 
'96.  He  then  spoke  of  the  wretched  clothing 
and  the  gaunt,  starved  look  of  the  Irish  people. 

On  the  day  that  the  Batde  of  Bunker  Hill  was 
fought,  my  grandmother,  then  a  young  lady,  stood 
at  the  gate  of  her  country  home  near  Boston,  and 
as  the  wounded  British  soldiers  were  being  carried 
by,  she  had  them  brought  in  and  attended  and 


CHARLES  STEWAR  T  PARNELL.  3  ^ 

comforted  as  best  she  could.  Such  was  her  sym- 
pathy and  humanity  thaj:  she  could  not  bear  to  see 
even  an  enemy  suffer.  Her  lover,  William  Tudor, . 
had  been  absent  three  days,  and  she  thought  was 
in  the  fray;  she  was  greatly  concerned  for  his 
safety.  Imagine  her  fears,  when  a  British  officer, 
in  answer  to  her  inquiries,  and  thinking  she  musf 
be  on  their  side,  said,  **  Never  mind  about  them, 
my  fair  young  lady,  we  have  peppered  them  well." 

For  her  brave  and  sympathetic  conduct  upon 
this  occasion  she  was  afterwards  poetically  referred 
to  as  ''the  ministering  angel  at  the  gates  of  Bos- 
ton;"  and  from  the  day  she  stood  there,  receiving 
and  waiting  upon  the  wounded  patriots  and 
soldiers,  until  her  death,  at  ninety-two,  her  life  was 
spent  in  serving  others,  regardless  of  the  cost  or 
sacrifice  to  herself.  But  with  all  her  noble-hearted 
goodness  and  tender  sympathy,  she  was  the  soul 
of  independence,  and  resisted  every  form  of  coer- 
cion, popular  or  personal.  When  the  inhabitants 
were  forbidden  to  use  tea  in  Boston,  and  it  was 
dangerous  to  do  so,  she  regarded  it  as  an  invasion 
of  her  personal  rights,  and  got  some  tea  by  ''hook 
or  crook' ^  and  openly  gave  a  *'  tea  party/* 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  she  was  so  strong 
in  her  womanhood  and  old  age,  she  was  so  delicate 
when  a  child  that  her  mother  and  step-father,  Mr. 
Young,  who  was  devoted  to  her,  scarcely  expected 
to  raise  her.  At  nine  years  of  age  she  was  so 
slight  that  she  could  easily  be  held  out  in  a  man's 


32  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

hand.  Seldom  has  so  strong  an  attachment  existed 
between  a  father  and  his  own  daughter  as  existed 
between  herself  and  step-father,  Captain  Young. 
She  idolized  him.  He  was  so  good  to  her  and  her 
mother.  Her  descendants  cherish  her  memory 
with  pride  and  reverence.  Her  portrait  in  oil  is 
with  the  Tudors  in  Boston,  as  is  also  that  of  my 
mother,  a  beautiful  work  done  by  Gilbert  Stewart, 
soon  after  her  marriage  to  my  father. 

The  Life  and  Letters  of  John  Adams  contain 
references  and  letters  of  my  grandfather  Tudor, 
and  letters  from  John  Adams  to  John  Tudor  (my 
greatgrandfather),  the  miser,  eulogizing  the  great 
goodness  and  promise  of  his  son  William,  and 
urging  him  to.  be  more  liberal  toward  him. 

My  uncle,  Frederic  Tudor,  was  called  the  *'Ice 
King."  He  first  discovered  a  means  of  preserving 
ice  so  as  to  send  it  to  the  East  Indies.  It  was  only 
after  many  trials  that  he  succeeded.  He  estab- 
lished, with  great  difficulty,  a  trade  with  the  West 
Indies,  and  for  many  years  practically  controlled 
the  exporting  of  ice  to  Cuba.  In  trying  to  estab- 
lish this  trade  he  first  sent  his  cousin,  then  Henry 
Tudor,  his  brother,  but  they  failed  in  creating  any 
demand  for  ice.  Then  my  uncle  Frederic  char- 
tered a  vessel,  put  both  himself  and  ice  into  it  and 
sailed  for  the  West  Indies.  I  saw  a  letter  of  his 
mother,  beseeching  him  not  to  go,  as  **  she  was 
afraid  the  Ice  would  begin  to  melt  and  slide  about, 
from  side  to  side,  and  upset  the  vessel! ''     When 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNI^LL.  33 

he  began  this  ice  trade,  his  mother,  who  was 
between  sixty  and  seventy  years  of  age,  by  her 
letters,  written  in  Spanish  to  the  Governor-General 
of  Cuba,  interested  him  in  her  son's  enterprise. 
Frederic  Tudor  was  afterwards  presented  with  the 
thanks  of  the  East  India  Company,  as  the  ice  he 
had  shipped  there  proved  such  a  boon  in  treating 
fevers  in  that  climate. 

Mrs.  Tudor,  his  widow,  in  her  large,  elegant 
home  in  Boston,  hospitably  entertained  my  son 
Charles  and  others  with  him  when  he  was  in  Bos- 
ton, and  the  funeral  of  my  daughter  Fannie  started 
from  her  house  for  the  Tudor  vault  in  Mount 
Auburn  Cemetery.  My  other  uncle,  William 
Tudor,  was  widely  known,  because  of  his  public 
services  as  soldier,  statesman  and  journalist.  He 
died,  -unmarried,  in  the  prime  of  life,  as  Charge 
d' Affairs  at  Rio  Janeiro.  It  is  said  the  Emperor, 
Dom  Pedro,  consulted  him  more  than  he  did  his 
own  ministers, — and  Lord  P.  and  others  of  the 
diplomatic  corps  said  that  had  William  Tudor 
lived  the  Emperor  would  not  have  lost  his  crown. 
One  of  our  consuls  said  he  could  never  forget  his 
magnificent  appearance.  He  was  over  six  feet 
high,  had  coal  black  hair,  and  **the  renowned 
large,  dark  blue,  brilliant  Tudor  eye,"  as  it  was 
called  in  New  England,  which  my  brother  and 
myself  did  not  inherit. 

The  house  of  my  grandparents  was  the  daily 
resort  of  the  officers  of  the  French  fleet  during 


34  CHARLES  STEWART  DARNELL. 

our  country's  early  trials.  Madame  Tudor  was 
often  eulogized  in  Count  de  Segier's  memoirs, 
who  also  declared  the  American  young  ladies 
very  fascinating,  and  especially  so  Misses  Emma 
and  Delia  Tudor,  who  had  both  received  a  finished 
education. 

MY    MOTHER,  MISS  DELIA  TUDOR, 

prior  to  her  marriage,  was  called  **The  Belle  of 
Boston."  She  mastered  several  languages,  and 
spoke  five  of  them  fluendy.  She  learned  drawing 
and  painting,  composed  music,  and  became  a 
brilliant  performer  on  the  piano  and  harp.  She 
also  studied  history  with  extraordinary  avidity, 
and  it  was  said  by  a  writer  in  describing  her, 
''became  as  familiar  with  abstruse  sciences  as  the 
ordinary  girl  is  with  the  intricacies  of  a  spring 
bonnet."  After  finishing  her  school  days  in  Bos- 
ton, she  went  abroad,  and  became  a  recognized 
belle,  and  was  quite  an  attraction  in  London 
society.  Her  piano  and  harp  performances  were 
pronounced  superb  by  the  best  critics,  and  she 
became  the  guest  of  the  best  families  in  Europe. 
The  sons  of  George  the  Third  crowded  around 
her  piano,  and  were  charmed  no  less  by  her  music 
than  by  her  native  wit  and  independence.  Her 
ready  command  of  the  languages  may  better  be 
understood  from  the  following  story  related  by 
the  wife  of  an  English  nobleman  :  '*  One  evening, 
at  the  theatre  in  London,  some  gentlemen  were 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  35 

trying  to  divine  Miss  Tudor*s  nationality  from  the 
different  languages  she  spoke  to  the  different 
members  of  the  diplomatic  corps  and  other  for- 
eigners around  her.  First  they  concluded  she 
was  Italian,  then  Spanish,  then  German,  then 
French;  and  when  she  finally  began  conversing  in 
English,  one  of  them  exclaimed,  *  By  Jove  !  she 
speaks  English,  too.' " 

In  the  midst  of  this  brilliant  social  career  in 
London,  the  news  of  her  father's  financial  troubles 
reached  her  and  made  her  so  unhappy  that  she 
broke  away  from  every  thing  and  sped  back  to 
Boston  to  him. 

My  father,  Charles  Stewart,  is  well  known  to' 
history.  He  was  born  of  Irish  parents  in  Phila- 
delphia. His  mother  was  the  niece  of  the  Lord 
Mayor  of  London,  who  disinherited  her  when  she 
eloped  and  married  hi?  father,  who  was  a  captain 
in  the  Merchant  Marine,  the  Lord  Mayor  conceiv- 
ing that  his  dignity  had  been  compromised  by  this 
step.  At  twelve  years  of  age  my  father  was 
introduced  to  President  Washington.  The  next 
year  he  ran  away  from  his  parents  and  entered  the 
Merchant  service  as  a  cabin-boy.  He  rose  rapidly, 
and  when  he  was  twenty-one  he  owned  two  vessels, 
which  he  afterwards  presented  as  a  free  gift  to  the 
National  Navy,  which  was  much  in  need  of  ships. 
In  1 798  he  was  commissioned  a  lieutenant  in  the 
navy,  and  two  years  afterwards  succeeded  to  the 
command  of  the  schooner  Experiment     In  Sep- 


36  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

tember,  1800,  he  captured  the  French  schooner 
Deux  Amis,  and  soon  after  the  Diana,  besides 
recapturing  a  number  of  American  vessels  which 
had  been  taken  by  the  French.  From  1802  to 
181 2  he  performed  important  services,  but  it  was 
in  1 815,  while  he  sailed  in  command  of  the  Consti- 
tution, that  he  covered  himself  with  glory.  He 
happened  to  fall  in  with  the  French  ships-of-war, 
the  Cyane,  of  thirty-four,  and  the  Levant,  of  twenty- 
one  guns,  and  captured  them  after  a  desperate 
conflict.  On  his  return  home,  the  Legislature  of 
Pennsylvania  presented  him  with  a  gold-hilted 
sword,  and  a  gold  medal  was  ordered  for  him  by 
Congress.  He  had  a  world-wide  fame,  and  was 
the  only  naval  officer  ever  named  for  the  Presi- 
dency of  the  United  States.  So  much  did  he  love 
active  Itfe  that  when  placed  on  the  retired  list  in 
1857,  on  account  of  his  advanced  age,  he  petitioned 
Congress  to  be  allowed,  by  special  legislation,  to 
be  allowed  to  continue  at  his  post,  which  was 
granted.  During  President  Lincoln's  administra- 
tion he  was  made  Admiral,  and  finally  retired,  re- 
taining that  rank.  The  remainder  of  his  life  was 
spent  af  Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  where  he  died 
at  the  age  of  ninety-two, 


CHAPTER  III. 

MY   MOTHER   AND    FATHER'S   MARRIAGE. 

The  occasion  of  their  first  meeting  was  while 
the  Constitution  was  in  Boston  Harbor  refit- 
ting. Grandmother  gave  a  reception,  and  Captain 
Stewart  was  naturally  invited.  He  was  fascinated 
by  my  mother's  beauty  and  accomplishments,  and, 
as  he  was  a  man  of  action,  lost  no  time  in  pro- 
posing, notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a  note 
which  he  had  confided  to  a  friend,  was  then  on  its 
way  carrying  a  proposal  to  the  lady  whom  Gen- 
eral Scott  afterwards  married,  but,  happily  for  my 
father,  the  bearer,  "just  like  a  man,"  kept  the 
letter  in  his  pocket  and  forgot  to  deliver  it. 

Naturally  enough,  my  mother  refused  him ;  she 
liked  him,  but  grandmother  did  not.  It  was  said  that 
a  Duke  and  more  than  one  Lord  had  sought  her 
hand  in  vain, and  perhaps  grandmother  was  looking 
for  something  in  the  line  of  titled  blood  that  would 
give  her  opportunity  to  enjoy  and  display  her  so- 
cial culture.  Be  that  as  it  may,  my  father  perse- 
vered, and  carried  off  the- prize,  as  he  always  did. 
Delia  Tudor  gave  her  hand  and  heart  to  the 
young  American  sailor,  who  on  more  than 
one  occasion  proved  himself  an  unequal  match 
for  John   Bull.        A   fortune  teller — now  don't 

37 


38  CHAR!  ES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

laugh — long  before  had  told  him  that  he  would 
marry  the  **  Belle  of  Boston."  But  he  could 
not  long  remain  in  port  to  enjoy  the  society 
of  his  charming  young  bride.  His  ship  was  ready 
all  too  soon,  and  he  must  tear  himself  away. 
*'  What  shall  I  bring  you  on  my  return  ?"  he  asked 
his  young  bride.  ^*  Bring  me  a  British  frigate," 
was  the  reply.  ''Til  bring  you  two.'*  Soon  after 
this  he  kept  his  word  by  capturing  the  two  vessels. 
I  was  my  father's  favorite  child  and  the  oldest, 
being  born  in  1816,  one  year  after  the  capture  of 
the  Levant,  and  was  brought  when  about  one 
year  of  age  to  his  home,  Montpelier,  at  Borden- 
town.  New  Jersey,  afterwards  familiarly  known  as 
''Ironsides."  I  had  a  younger  brother  Charles,  to 
whom  the  estate  descended,  and  after  his  death 
came  to  me.  As  children  he  and  I  were  very  de- 
voted to  each  other  and  happy  together^  but  an 
unfortunate  occurrence  which  separated  my  father 
and  mother,  resulted  in  our  being  parted  for 
years,  he  going  to  live  with  father  and  I  remaining 
with  mother.  It  happened  about  this  way:  It  was 
during  the  war  between  Spain  on  the  one  side  and 
Chili  and  Peru  on  the  other.  Father  was  com- 
manding an  American  vessel  which  was  supposed 
to  be  entirely  neutral.  Mother  was  on  board 
with  him.  By  some  means  a  Spanish  officer  got 
aboard  to  save  his  life  from  the  enemy,  and 
brought  letters  from  some  one  to  my  mother  beg- 
ging her  to  hide  him,  and  save  his  life  if  possible. 


MRS.  CLAUDE  PAGET. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  4I 

Through  the  assistance  of  some  one  of  the  ship's 
officers,  she  was  enabled  to  place  him  under  the 
butler's  charge  to  wash  dishes  and  help  in  that 
capacity. 

This  was  all  without  father's  knowledge,  and 
out  of  sympathy  on  the  part  of  my  mother  to 
save  the  poor  man's  life.  But  the  facts  got  out, 
and  my  father  was  summoned  to  Washington  and 
court-martialed  for  violating  the  neutrality  law. 
He  wanted  my  mother  to  go  personally  and  ap- 
pear with  him  and  vindicate  him.  She  was  so 
beautiful  and  eloquent  that  he  was  very  proud  of 
her,  and  wanted  to  have  her  defend  him  personally, 
knowing  that  she  would  have  great  power  by  her 
presence,  but  she  was  of  a  nervous  nature  that 
could  not  bear  the  shock  of  so  appearing,  and  in- 
stead of  going  she  wrote  her  vindication,  which 
completely  exonerated  my  father,  but  he  could 
not  forgive  her  at  the  time,  and  they  separated. 

Myself  and  Charles  were  thus  absent  from  each 
other  seven  years.  Soon  after  the  occurrence  I 
brooded  much  over  the  sadness  thus  occasioned, 
and  though  only  ten  years  of  age,  wrote  the 
following  little  song  and  set  the  words  to  music : 

Dost  thou  not  think  of  days  gone  by 

When  we  did  play  together  ? 
Dost  thou  not  hear  the  tender  sigh, 

And  oft  those  days  remember  ? 
Ah,  yes,  I  know  full  well  that  thou 

Art  thinking  ever,  ever 
Of  happy  days  that  did  ere  now 

Socheer  us  all,  my  brother. 


43  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

MY   BROTHER   CHARLES. 

Brother  Charles  when  he  grew  up  engaged  in 
extensive  business  pursuits,  both  in  this  country 
and  in  Europe.  Early  in  life  he  became  a  civil 
engineer,  and  assisted  in  building  the  Reading 
Railroad.  After  his  death  this  is  what  a  magazine 
article  said  of  him: 

''While  his  father  commanded  the  Home 
Squadron,  he  acted  as  his  private  secretary.  He 
was  also  a  member  of  the  bar  and  had  a  lucra- 
tive practice.  For  breadth  and  integrity  of  char- 
acter, manly  bearing  and  goodness  of  heart  it 
would  be  hard  to  find  his  equal.  He  was  entirely 
the  artificer  of  his  own  fortunes  and  idolized  by 
his. family  and  friends." 

My  mother  took  me  to  Washington  about  the 
age  of  ten  or  eleven.  We  spent  our  winters  in 
Washington  after  that.  Our  summers  we  usually 
spent  in  New  York,  Boston  and  Maine,  at  my 
mother's  sisters.  When  I  grew  older  we  spent 
some  summers  at  Newport.  This  is  in  the  earlier 
days  of  Newport,  when  it  was  just  beginning  to 
be  fashionable.  There  was  not  a  cottage  there. 
Everybody  lived  in  boarding-houses.  Newport 
people  were  very  easily  satisfied  then.  We  got 
rye  coffee ;  always  got  hot  cakes ;  everywhere 
we  went  we  had  good  buckwheat  cakes.  Mr. 
Parnell  was  induced  by  his  friend,  Lord  Powers- 
court,  to  travel     He  was  his  cousin.     On  the 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  43 

Steamer  coming,  they  met  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomson 
Hankey.  Mrs.'  Hankey  was  related  to  the  Biddies 
of  Philadelphia.  The  whole  party  came  to  Wash- 
ington together.  My  mother  called  on  Mrs. 
Hankey,  and  when  the  two  young  men  heard  there 
was  a  young  lady  in  the  drawing-room,  they  also 
put  in  an  appearance.  This  was  early  in  1834. 
Then  the  whole  party  came  to  see  us.  The  two 
young  men  were  sure  to  come  too,  and  on  the 
occasion  of  that  very  first  visit  to  us,  Mrs.  Hankey 
astonished  me  by  beginning  to  quiz  Mr.  Parnell 
about  his  admiration  for  me.  This  was  something 
like  Benedict  and  Beatrice,  and  probably  it  laid 
the  first  stone,  for  Mr.  Parnell  was  very  shy,  like 
many  a  young  Englishman.  His  friend  was  not. 
Both  were  very  handsome  young  men,  but  Mr. 
Parnell  was  the  handsomer  by  far.  Then  they 
went  away  on  different  visits  together,  but  soon 
separated.  We  went  to  West  Point  as  usual.  I 
was  a  great  favorite  with  the  proprietor  of  the 
West  Point  Hotel,  and  Mr.  Parnell  and  his  cousin 
came  to  West  Point,  too,  immediately  after  our 
arrival  there.  I  was  a  great  favorite  with  the 
cadets.  I  helped  them  play  tricks  on  their  superior 
officers,  and  got  one  of  them  under  arrest,  which 
shocked  me  horridly,  for  I  was  very  sensitive.  I 
induced  the  proprietor  of  the  hotel  to  give  a  ball 
to  the  cadets.  I  got  very  few  dances  with  them, 
because  of  the  persistent  attentions  of  Lord  Powers- 
court  and  Mr.  Parnell  to  me.     Right  in  the  midst 


44  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

of  the  dancing,  which  I  was  enjoying  very  much, 
Mr.  Parnell  said  to  me,  ''I  hate  this  dancing;  won't 
you  come  into  another  room  ?"  However,  I  went 
into  another  room,  as  he  wanted  to  get  out  of  the 
ball-room.  Well,  we  got  into  another  room,  where 
there  were  several  other  couples ;  so  then  he 
dragged  me  off  to  another  room,  with  a  similar 
fate.  Then  he  got  me  out  onto  the  piazza,  and 
there  were  several  couples  ;  and  then  he  gave  vent 
to  a  John  Bull  oath,  '*  Damn  it,"  which  I  had  not 
heard  since  I  left  my  father's  ship,  which  astonished 
me  exceedingly.  I  began  to  think  he  was  very 
bad  terhpered  and  became  a  little  afraid  of  him. 
So  the  next  morning  he  went  out  to  smoke  with 
his  cousin,  but  soon  left  him  smoking  and  hurried 
up  to  the  hotel  and  asked  me  if  I  would  not  like  to 
see  Kosciusko's  Retreat.  Of  course,  as  I  had 
never  seen  it,  I  was  glad  to  go  and  see  it.  There 
he  proposed, — asked  me  to  go  to  Ireland  with  him ; 
and  going  away  from  the  Retreat,  we  met  his 
cousin  hurrying  to  find  out  where  we  were.  I 
hardly  took  Mr.  Parnell  to  be  serious,  so  I  said  to 
Lord  Powerscourt  very  frankly,  "  Your  cousin  has 
just  asked  me  to  go  to  Ireland  with  him,  but  I  don't 
like  being  lost  in  an  Irish  fog,  and  I  am  afraid  he 
has  no  house  there."  That  was  my  idea  of  Ireland. 
Lord  Powerscourt  laughed  and  said  he  **  thought 
his  cousin  had  a  mud  cabin."  That  was  all  the 
encouragement  he  gave  me.  Well,  we  had  parties 
on  horseback  and  different  things,  and  they  left. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 


45 


and  we  went  to  Lebanon  to  see  the  Shaking 
Quakers  ;  but  the  whole  of  this  business  at  West 
Point  gave  me  a  violent  headache  which  lasted  for 
a  week.  This  is  but  the  beginning  of  the  history 
of  his  perseverance,  which  ended  in  our  marriage 
at  Grace  Church,  New  York,  Dr.  Taylor  officia- 
ting, the  3 1  St  of  May,  1835.  My  mother  was  very 
much  opposed  to  the  match,  and  she  would  not 
consent  to  it  herself  until  he  promised  to  bring  me 
back  every  year  to  see  the  family.  Yes,  but  he 
did  not  keep  his  promise,  as  he  did  not  promise  to 
bring  the  children  and  I  was  not  willing  to  leave 
them. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

IN   THE   VALE   OF   AVOCA. 

Our  home  was  made  in  Ireland  at  Avondale, 
County  Wicklow,  except  when  we  were  visiting 
among  his  friends,  and  when  I  went  to  Paris  for 
the  education  and  social  advantages  of  my  family. 
My  mother  and  brother  had  a  beautiful  home  in 
Paris.  My  husband  was  pleased  to  have  us  go 
there  on  account  of  the  great  advantages  it  afforded 
to  me  and  to  my  children  ;  but  he  would  not  let 
them  go  to  school  unless  I  was  near  them. 

We  had  eleven  children  born,  five  sons  and^six 
daughters,  all  born  at  Avondale  except  Theodosia, 
who  was  born  at  Torquay,  the  place  where  the 
family  first  landed  in  England ;  and  Henry,  who 
was  born  in  Paris.  All  born  in  the  same  room  at 
Avondale  except  Anna.  Five  of  the  eleven  children 
are  now  living,  three  daughters  and  two  sons. 
Ten  of  them  grew  up  to  majority.  Hayes  died 
of  pleurisy  and  an  affection,  of  the  liver  at  fif- 
teen ;  and  I  lost  an  infant  son  five  months  old, 
William  Tudor,  through  bad  vaccination.  All  the 
daughters  married  but  Fanny  and  Anna,'  and  all 
the  sons  married  except  John  and  Hayes.  William 
died  as  an  infant.     Of  those   now  living,  Anna 

46  .         ' 


48  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

is  the  only  one  that  was  prominent  in  the  Land 
League  in  Ireland.  My  son  John  was  also  a 
quiet  worker  in  this  country,  but  on  account  of  a 
nervous  defect  in  his  speech,  he  did  very  litde 
public  speaking.  My  daughter  Anna  usually  re- 
sides near  London.  She  has  not  been  active  in 
Irish  matters  for  some  time.  Her  work  was  prin- 
cipally in  the  Ladles'  Land  League  in  Ireland 
during  the  imprisonment  of  the  members.  My 
son  John  is  now  residing  in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  engaged 
in  business  in  that  city.  My  daughter  Theodbsia 
married  Claude  Paget,  who  is  in  the  employ  of  the 
British  Navy,  and  is  now  with  his  ship  in  the 
British  Fleet  at  Hong  Kong.  His  wife,  with  her 
infant  son,  is  visiting  among  his  relations.  Lord 
Anglesea,  the  head  of  the  family,  is  a  cousin  of 
the  husband  of  Minnie  Stephens  of  New  York. 
There  was  not  a  family  in  England  that  would  not 
have!  been  proud  to  be  allied  to  the  Parnells.  The 
wedding  of  Mrs.  Paget  took  place  from  my 
daughter  Delia's  house  in  Paris,  and  all  the  near 
relatives  of  his  family  went  from  England  to  It, 
and  thought  themselves  fortunate  in  being  allied 
to  the  ancient  family  of  Parnell.  In  this  connec- 
tion I  wish  to  say  that  my  son's  family  is  one  of 
the  most  ancient  in  Great  Britain,  going  baqk  to  a 
Norman  Duke,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Hastings,  on  the  Norman  side,  and,  on  the  Eng- 
'lish  side,  going  back  to  the  Lord  High  Stewarts 
of  England,  and  by  marriages  to  the  Stewarts  of 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  49 

Scotland  and  the  Howards  of  England.  My  cousin, 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Stewart,  a  missionary,  who  was 
connected  with  the  Lispenard  Stewarts  of  New 
York,  used  to  say  that  the  Stewart  family  were  de- 
scended from  Ban  quo' s  ghost.  In  the  story,  you 
know,  Fleance,  the  son  of  Banquo,  was  saved. 
He  fled  to  Paris  and  there  he  married  a  princess 
of  the  house  of  Tudor,  so  that  the  Stewarts  were 
descended  from  the  Tudors. 

My  daughter  Emily  married  Captain  Robert 
Dickinson,  of  the  British  Army.  It  was  she  who 
went  to  Mrs.  O'Shea,  immediately  after  her 
brother's  death,  and  persuaded  Mrs.  O'Shea  to  let 
Charles  be  interred  in  Ireland.  Mrs.  O'Shea,  as 
was  very  natural,  did  riot  want  to  part  with  the 
corpse.  My  daughter  Emily  accompanied  the 
funeral  to  the  cemetery,  the  Glasnevin,  near 
Dublin.  It  is  the  Catholic  cemetery  where  O' Con- 
ner was  buried  ;  though  my  son  was  buried  in  a 
piece  of  ground  which  was  given  to  the  poor. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   MOTHER   AND    HER   BOY. 

Speaking  of  my  son  in  particular,  he  was 
born  at  Avondale,  on  the  27th  of  June,  1846,  and 
was  my  sixth  child.  Very  early  in  his  life  he 
manifested  those  peculiar  traits  of  mind  and  char- 
acter which  afterwards  led  to  his  distinction.  One 
prominent  characteristic  seemed  to  be  to  take  the 
part  of  the  oppressed.  He  was  always  ready  to 
fight  the  battles  of  even  his  older  brothers  and  sis- 
ters. In  connection  with  this  I  remember  an  anec- 
dote. One  day  he  thought  the  nurse  was  too  severe 
with  his  sister  Anna.  He  got  up  on  a  table  and 
seized  his  big  stick  and  put  his  sister  on  a  table^ 
placed  himself  in  front  of  her  and  fought  off  the  two 
nurses.  He  was  about  seven  or  eight  years  old 
then.  Another  time,  when  I  punished  his  sister 
Anna,  he  gave  himself  and  me  no  rest  until  he 
got  me  to  stop  punishing.  He  kept  saying,  "O 
mamma,  she'll  die,  she'll  die!"  Anna  was  very 
resolute,  and  Charles  thought  she  would  not  yield 
while  there  was  a  spark  of  life  in  her. 

Religiously,  my  son  was  a  Protestant.  His  father 
belonged  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  Charles 
was  much  with  very  religious  and  pious  people. 
50 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  5 1 

My  mother  was  Puritan  on  one  side  and  Hugue- 
not on  the  other. 

His  education  was  begun  at  home  by  his  mother, 
governess  and  tutor  at  Avondale  ;  afterwards  he 
was  at  school  in  Summersetshire,  kept  by  a  lady. 
Then  he  was  sent  to  a  clergyman  in  Derbyshire, 
whose  wife  was  a  very  excellent  woman,  and  took 
a  great  pride  in  the  education  of  the  pupils.  Then 
he  went  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Whiseshaw,  who  prepared 
him  for  Cambridge.  He  then  said  he  was  the 
only  boy  in  his  whole  establishment  whom  he 
could  trust.  The  whole  country  bore  witness  to 
the  fidelity  of  his  promises  even  when  he  was  a 
lad.  He  was  sent  to  Cambridge  on  account  ox 
his  father  having  been  sent  there  ;  besides,  he  had 
a  great  talent  for  mathematics,  and  that  is  a  great 
mathematical  college.  He  said  he  owed  to  me 
whatever  facility  he  had  for  speaking  or  writing 
English,  and  not  to  schools.  "  I  gave  great  care  to 
his  education,  requiring  him  to  make  accurate  and 
fine  translations  from  the  original  into  the  English, 
both  in  Caesar's  commentaries  and  Virgil. 

But,  unfortunately,  he  did  not  have  this  care 
from  me  so  long  as  his  sisters  had.  This  possibly 
explains  their  greater  fluency  in  expressing  them- 
selves. I  think  he  did  not  remain  at  college  the 
full  term  for  graduation,  on  account  of  a  disagree- 
ment between  himself  and  one  of  the  professors. 
He  left  of  his  own  accord,  as  his  self-respect  pre- 
vented his  yielding,  and  asking  pardon  where  he 


.52  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

thought  he  had  been  unjustly  treated.  After 
leaving  college  he  had  another  private  tutor  at 
home.  He  grew  very  rapidly,  and  his  health  was 
delicate.  He  would  have  outgrown  his  strength 
entirely  but  for  the  care  I  took  of  him.  He  was 
always  very  nervous,  of  which  I  might  recite  many 
instances  but  for  lack  of  time.  He  afterwards 
traveled  in  America  and  in  Europe.  After  entering 
upon  public  life  his  history  is  well  known  to  the 
world.  One  of  the  strongest  traits  of  his  char- 
acter was  indulgence  and  love  of  his  friends.  An 
affection  once  formed  with  him  must  always  re- 
main. This  is  clearly  shown  in  his  course  and  ad- 
herence in  his  friendship,  especially  towards 
William  O'Brien,  as  is  shown  by  the  following 
letter,  which  he  wrote  O'Brien  after  the  cele- 
brated Boulogne  controversy,  which  the  world 
thought  had  made  them  enemies  : 

February  i  i  ,  i 890. 

My  Dear  O'Brien  : — I  desire  to  express  to  you 
how  deeply  I  feel  the  kindness  and  gentleness  of 
spirit  shown  to  me  by  you  throughout  the  nego- 
tiations. I  have  felt  all  along  that  I  had  no  right 
to  expect  from  anybody  the  constant  anxiety  to 
meet  my  views,  the  intense  desire  that  all  pro- 
posals claiming  your  sanction  should  be  as  palata- 
ble as  possible  to  me,  which  so  distinguished  your 
conduct  in  the  communications  which  passed  be- 
tween us.     I  know  that  you  have  forgiven  much 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  53 

foughness  and  asperity  on  my  part,  and  that  you 
have  made  allowances  for  some  unreasonable  con- 
duct from  me,  which  to  anybody  gifted  with,  less 
patience  and  conciliation  than  yourself  would 
have  been  most  difficult. 

I  appreciate  intensely  the  difficulties  which 
surrounded  you  during  these  negotiations,  the 
constant  daily  anxiety  which  would  have  been 
overwhelming  to  anybody  possessed  of  less  cour- 
age and  devotion  than  yourself. 

I  fervently  hope  and  believe  that  the  prospects 
of  Ireland  are  not  so  dark  as  you  fear,  and  after  a 
little  time,  having  passed  through  the  clouds  ^and 
darkness,  we  shall  again  stand  on  our  former  foot- 
ing— when  in  happier  days  we  were  comrades  in 
arms  in  behalf  of  a  united  Ireland. 

Dearest  O'Brien,  I  am  always  yours, 

CHARLES  S.  PARNELL. 

Another  instance  in  this  connection,  I  might  also 
relate.  When  I  went  to  London  to  stop  with  him 
in  1886,  I  took  him  a  poem  I  had  written  about  the 
evicted  tenants  and  asked  him  **if  he  or  I  should 
publish  it?  '*  He  said,  "Give  it  to  dear  William 
O'Brien  to  publish,^'  which  I  did. 

Another  instance  of  his  tenacious  affection  and 
disposition  to  sustain  others,  is  shown  by  his  rela- 
tions to  his  wife  when  she  was  Mrs.  O'Shea.  Her 
sentiments  to  him  were  those  of  admiration  and 
enthusiasm  for  his  work,  in  which  Captain  O'Shea 


54  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

did  not  agree,  he  being  a  Liberal  Unionist,  while 
my  son  was  a  Nationalist.  My  son  was  naturally  of 
a  very  chivalric  character,  and  he  had  great  pity  for 
Mrs.  O'Shea,  as  well  as  great  admiration  of  her 
talents  and  of  her  love  for  his  country.  No  Irish- 
men should  lift  a  stone  against  Mrs.  O'Shea,  for 
she  served  Ireland  faithfully,  and  that  is  what  made 
Captain  O'Shea  so  *'  mad." 

It  is  but  a  repetition  of  the  history  of  David  and 
Abigail.  Abigail  went  out  and  fed  David  and  his 
men  when  her  husband  was  cursing  and  seeking 
to  destroy  them ;  so  Mrs.  O'Shea  came  ^to  the 
rescue  of  my  son  and  his  friends,  whom  her  husband 
detested.  Captain  O'Shea  was  particularly  angry 
with  all  the  Nationalists,  and  being  a  Liberal 
Unionist,,  particularly  anxious  to  break  up  the 
whole  movement  He  tried  to  hit  what  he  thought 
was  the  bull's  eye,  other  things  having  failed.  In 
this  connection  I  wish  to  say  that  I  do  not  believe 
Charles  could  have  done  what  he  did,  nor  endured 
with  his  weak  physical  condition  the  eternal  harass- 
ment of  political  life,  the  rigors  of  imprisonment, 
the  jealousy  and  treachery  of  friends  and  foes  alike, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  sympathy  of  a  few  women, 
the  nearest  one  being  Mrs.  O^Shea,  whose  sustain- 
ing force  gave  him  courage  and  helped  his  little 
remaining  strength  to  do  the  mighty  deeds  of  his 
last  days  for  Ireland. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  he  was  not  able  to 
carry  out  the  plans  he  formed  in  1886  for  himself, 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  55 

sister  Emily  and  me  to  have  a  home  near  London, 
where  we  might  have  spent  together  our  remain- 
ing days  and  assisted  him  in  his  labor.  In  sum- 
ming up  the  public  work  that  he  did,  I  take 
pleasure  in  referring  to  the  following  facts  pub- 
lished in  1 880 :  First,  he  compelled  the  English 
government  to  make  a  grant  of  £  1 70,000.  Second, 
he  caused  the  passage  of  the  Seed  and  Potato  Bill, 
and  the  Irish  Relief  Bill.  Third,  he  saved  the 
Irish  tenants  about  ten  million  pounds  by  abate- 
ments of  rent.  Fourth,  he  called  into  existence 
the  Mansion  House  Committee,  the  Marlborough 
Committee  and  the  Land  League  Committee,  by 
whose  exertions  ;,^225,ooo  have  been  collected  and 
spent  in  relieving  the  distressed  people  of  Ireland. 
Fifth,  he  checked  the  increase  of  distress  by  the 
timely  supply  of  food,  fuel  and  clothing,  thus  sav- 
ing hundreds  of  thousands  of  lives.  Sixth,  by 
neutralizing  the  Eviction  Laws  he  prevented  thous- 
ands of  poor  cottiers  from  being  cast  out  of  their 
hovels  to  die  in  the  ditches.  All  this  he  has  done 
in  Ireland. 

Then  crossing  the  waters  to  America,  he  made 
Ireland  known  as  that  country  was  never  known 
before,  and  awakened  public  opinion  to  English 
misrule  and  its  direful  results  among  the  Irish 
farmers.  Second,  by  his  character  and  pure  patriot- 
ism he  was  able  to  address  himself  to  the  intelli- 
gence of  America,  speaking  in  the  Capitol  at 
Washington  and  in  the  Legislative  Assemblies  of 


56  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELI. 

most  of  the  States,  thus  elevating  Ireland  and  its 
cause  in  the  esteem  of  the  best  classes  of  the 
American  people.  Third,  he  raised  for  the  relief 
of  the  suffering  Irish  near  three  million  of  dollars, 
which  was  forwarded  through  the  Land  League 
and  other  patriotic  organizations  to  the  sufferers. 
He  called  into  existence  the  societies  of  this 
country  which  have  aided  Ireland.  Fourth,  he 
induced  the  Federal  Government  to  send  a  naval 
ship  laden  with  provisions  to  Ireland  and  to  pro- 
pose an  appropriation  of  three  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 


CHAPTER  VI, 

HER  daughters'    LITERARY  ATTAINMENTS. 

Speaking  of  the  literary  attainments  of  my 
daughters,  let  me  call  attention  to  the  Celtic 
Magazine  of  June  and  July,  1880,  in  which  my 
daughter  Anna  wrote  a  continued  article  on  **  How 
they  do  in  the  House  of  Commons.'*  In  the 
February  number  of  1881  is  a  picture  of  the  birth- 
place and  old  homestead  of  my  son  Charles.  In 
the  same  magazine,  of  September,  1882,  are  a  por- 
trait of  my  father  and  a  biographical  sketch  of 
Fanny,  together  with  a  number  of  her  poems.  Here 
is  the  most  striking  one  of  them  all,  one  which  Mr. 
McWade  published  in  **The  Great  Irish  Struggle :" 

HOLD  THE  HARVEST. 

Now  are  you  men,  or  are  you  kine,  ye  tillers  of  the  soil? 
Would  you  be  free,  or  evermore,  the  rich  man's  cattle,  toil  ? 
The  shadow  on  the  dial  hangs  that  points  the  fatal  hour — 
Now  hold  your  own  !  or,  branded  slaves,  forever  cringe  and  cower. 

The  serpent's  curse  upon  you  lies — ye  writhe  within  the  dust ; 

Ye  fill  yovir  mouths  with  beggar's  swill,  ye  grovel  for  a  crust; 

Your  lords  have  set  their  blood-stained  heels  upon  your  shameful  heads, 

Yet  they  are  kind — they  leave  you  still  their  ditches  for  your  beds ! 

Oh,  by  the  God  who  made  us  all — the  seignior  and  the  serf —  - 
Rise  up  1  and  swear  this  day  to  hold  your  own  green  Irish  turf  1 
Rise  up  I  and  plant  your  feet  as  men  where  now  you  crawl  as  slaves. 
And  make  your  harvest  fields  your  camps,  or  make  of  them  your  graves! 

57 


58  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

The  birds  of  prey  are  hovering  round,  the  vultures  vrheel  stnd  swoop— 
They  come,  the  coroneted  ghouls !  with  drum-beat  and  with  troop— 
They  come  to  fatten  on  your  flesh,  your  children's  and  your  wives' ; 
Ye  die  but  once — hold  fast  your  lands  and,  if  ye  catty  your  lives. 

Let  go  the  trembling  emigrant — not  such  as  he  ye  need ; 
Let  go  the  lucre-loving  wretch  that  flies  his  land  for  greed ; 
Let  not  one  coward  stay  to  clog  your  manhood's  waking  power; 
Let  not  one  sordid  churl  pollute  the  Nation's  natal  hour. 

Yes,  lej  them  go !— the  caitiflf  rout,  that  shirk  the  struggle  now — 
The  light  that  crowns  your  victory  shall  scorch  each  recreant  brow. 
And  in  the  annals  of  your  race,  black  parallels  in  shame. 
Shall  stand  by  traitor's  and  by  spy's  the  base  deserter's  name. 

Three  hundred  years  your  crops  have  sprung,  by  murdered  corpses  fed— 
Your  butchered  sires,  your  famished  sires,  for  ghastly  compost  spread; 
Their  bones  have  fertilized  your  fields,  their  blood  has  fall'n  like  rain; 
They  died  that  ye  might  eat  and  live — God  !  have  they  died  in  vain  ? 

The  yellow  corn  starts  blithely  up ;  beneath  it  lies  a  grave — 
Your  father  died  in  "  Forty-eight " — his  life  for  yours  he  gave ; — 
He  died  that  you,  his  son,  might  learn  there  is  no  helper  nigb* 
Except  for  him  who,  save  in  fight,  has  sworn  he  will  not  die. 

The  hour  is  struck,  Fate  holds  the  dice ;  we  stand  with  bated  breath ; 
Now  who  shall  have  our  harvest  fair  ? — 'tis  Life  that  plays  with  Death ; 
Now  who  shall  have  our  motherland  ? — 'tis  Right  that  plays  with  Might ; 
The  peasant's  arms  were  weak  indeed  in  such  unequal  fight  I 

But  God  is  on  the  peasant's  side — the  God  that  loves  the  poor : 
His  angels  stand  with  flaming  swords  on  every  mount  and  moor  ; 
They  guard  the  poor  man's  flocks  and  herds,  they  guard  his  ripening  grain- 
The  robber  sinks  beneath  their  curse  beside  his  ill-got  gain. 

O  pallid  serfs !  whose  groans  and  prayers  have  wearied  Heav'n  full  long. 
Look  up !  there  is  a  Law  above,  beyond  all  legal  wrong; 
Rise  up  !  the  answer  to  your  prayers  shall  come,  tornado-borne. 
And  ye  shall  hold  your  homesteads  dear,  and  ye  shall  reap  the  corn  I 

But  your  own  hands  upraised  to  guard  shall  draw  the  answer  down. 
And  bold  and  stem  the  deeds  must  be  that  oath  and  prayer  shall  crown ; 
God  only  fights  for  those  who  fight — now  hush  the  useless  moan,    , 
And  set  your  faces  as  a  flint  and  swear  to  Hold  Your  Own, 


AIISS  FANNV  PAKNELL. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  6i 

There  is  also  published  in  the  Celtic  Magazine, 
a  beautiful  picture  of  **The  Meeting  of  the 
Waters,"  celebrated  in  Moore's  poetry,  which 
was  the  first  piece  of  poetry  that  I  ever  learned. 
The  scene  is  on  our  place,  Avondale,  and  just  at 
the  beginning  of  the  vale  of  Avoca.  I  remember 
it  is  **  where  the  bright  waters  meet.'*  Avoca  is 
formed  by  the  meeting  of  Avonmore  and  the 
Avonbeg.  In  the  August  number  of  the  mag- 
azine of  1 88 1  is  published  a  sketch  of  Kilmainham 
Jail,  Dublin,  where  my  son  was  confined,  and 
where  about  eleven  hundred  Irishmen  were  im- 
prisoned on  different  charges,  without  trial. 

MY  OWN   PUBLIC  SERVICE. 

Since  the  beginning  of  my  son's  parliamentary 
career,  I  have  interested  myself  deeply  and  actively 
in  the  Irish  LaChd  League  and  all  Irish  national 
movements.  In  fact,  from  the  time  I  first 
placed  my  foot  upon  Irish  soil  in  1835,  as 
the  bride  of  John  Henry  Parnell,  my  heart  and 
actions  have  been  in  sympathetic  accord  with  all 
movements  for  the  liberty  and  prosperity  of  the 
Irish  people,  for  liberty  and  prosperity  are  essen- 
tially linked.  But  my  first  real  public  action  was  a 
public  speech,  that  I  made  in  Dublin,  and  I  was 
nearly  scared  to  death.  I  had  started  a  series  of 
musical  and  dramatic  gatherings,  which  were 
called  ** Originals,"  because  everything  was  to  be 
of  original  Irish  talent,  even  including  drawings. 


52  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

paintings  and  dance  music.  The  ladies  who  came 
to  play  brought  their  own  original  quadrilles, 
waltzes,  galops,  etc.  We  had  dancing  after 
the  reading  and  elocution.  It  was  in  i86i,I  think, 
and  they  were  to  be  held  on  Saturday  afternoons. 
My  part  wa3  to  deliver  the  address  of  welcome 
which  opened  the  series.  Fully  three  thousand 
people  were  present,  many  of  them  being  from 
the  Viceroyal  households.  Lord  Carlisle,  though 
unable  to  attend  in  person,  was  represented  by 
many  of  his  aides-de-camp,  whom  the  Irish 
called  *' eighty-scamps"  in  those  days.  They  had 
a  great  way  of  changing  names  to  suit  themselves. 
For  instance,  the  sick  and  indigents  the  hospitals 
who  were  hard  to  please,  used  to  be  called  the 
''stiffand  indignant/'  Besides  my  opening  address, 
I  selected  a  portion  of  Emerson's  poems  to  recite, 
for  I  thought  not  only  the  sentiment  was  appro- 
priate, but  also  that  my  opening  speech  was  origi- 
nal enough  for  me  to  give  them  at  one  time. 
In  my  speech  I  referred  to  the  poem  and  to  our 
American  Republic,  telling  the  people  that  *4t 
was  characteristic  of  the  Americans  to  *go  ahead,'" 
and  that  "I  wanted  the  Irish  also  to  strive  to  'go 
ahead.  ^"  I  astonished  my  audience,  and  the  aides- 
de-camp  looked  nervous.  This  series  of  literary 
and  dramatic  readings  led  to  the  establishment  of 
a  society  of  a  similar  nature  in  Dubjin,  particularly 
for  the  encouragement  of  literature,  which  is  still 
flourishing  there. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  63 

My  first  appearance  in  this  country  was  on  the 
occasion  when  Davitt  was  in  New  York,  just  before 
his  return  to  Ireland.  The  gathering  was  held 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Ladies'  Branch  of  the 
Land  League,  and  I,  as  President,  had  to  make 
the  first  speech.  The  audience  numbered  several 
thousand,  and  I  remember  Mr.  Davitt  said  that  it 
was  the  first  good  house  he  had  spoken  to —  a  re- 
sult achieved  by  the  ladies  stepping  forward  in  the 
cause.  Though  I  did  not  tremble  as  I  stood  for 
the  first  time  before  so  big  an  audience,  and  saw 
the  sea  of  faces  all  looking  at  me,  and  though  my 
voice  sounded  firm,  yet  I  was  greatly  friglitened, 
nevertheless.  But  I  got  through  it  all  right  and 
spoke  for  nearly  half  an  hour,  though  I  helped 
myself  out  by  a  number  of  extracts  and  quota- 
tions. You  can  imagine  how  apprehensive  I  was 
about  this,  my  first  really  public  appearance,  when 
I  tell  you  that  I  practised  for  it  beforehand.  I  was 
staying  at  the  New  York  Hotel  with  my  daughter 
at  the  time,  and  I  used  to  rehearse  in  my  room.  I 
remember  we  had  a  good  deal  of  amusement  on 
the  effect  of  this  on  the  boarders  who  heard  me, 
for  they  thought  I  was  giving  my  daughter  some 
terrible  scoldings.  They  listened  in  astonishment, 
never  having  heard  such  a  thing  before. 

The  first  piece  I  read  to  the  Irish  in  New  York 
was  one  on  Union.  I  thought  it  essential  on  my 
son  Charles'  platform,  as  I  thought  it  to  be  solid  and 
individual.     From   a   literary   standpoint  I  have 


64  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  ^ 

written  hardly  anything  except  about  the  Irish. 
My  life  and  my  thoughts  have  been  given  to  this 
cause,  and  no  doubt  this  has  much  to  do  with  turn- 
ing the  mind  of  my  son  so  strongly  in  this 
direction.  In  1846  I  wrote  a  poem  entided  "  The 
Irish  Exiles,"  being  an  address  by  the  Irish  exile 
to  his  country.  It  was  elicited  by  the  Irish  emigra- 
tion on  account  of  Ae  great  famine.  It  began  this 
way: 

Dear  hopie  of  my  soul,  raj  Erin,  farewell, 

My  fond  heart  now  beats  to  thy  sorrowing  knell ; 

Thy  glory  is  fled  and  thy  spirit  lies  low, 

And  deep  the  despair  where  hope  once  shed  a  glow. 

This  poem  was  sent  to  my  father.  He  had  it 
published  and  it  was  copied  all  over  the  Union. 
My  speeches  were  usually  impromptu  or  on  very 
few  notes  which  nobody  could  understand  but 
myself.  A  long  speech  of  mine  was  printed  in 
the  Irish  Nation  of  New  York,  about  the  middle 
of  the  eighties.  In  1883  I  furnished  an  article 
entitled  *' Incidents  in  Ireland  and  The  New  Irish 
Nation  "  to  the  New  York  Daily  News  of  May 
13,  1883.  More  of  my  public  Hfe,  and  my  public 
speeches  and  writing  I  deem  it  unnecessary  to 
refer  to.  John  Ridpath,  the  historian,  once  re- 
ferred in  complimentary  terms  to  some  of  my 
speeches,  especially  one  that  I  delivered  at  Albany, 
N.  Y.  People  used  to  want  me  at  the  close  of  my 
speeches  to  "go  on,'*  but  I  am  of  a  nervous  tem- 
perament and  found  it  very  hard  to  get  through 
what  I  had  already  said.    I  deem  it  unnecessary  to 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  65 

say  more  of  myself.  I  have  written  thus  fully  to 
show  more  of  the  foundation  of  my  son's  character. 
I  have  been  disposed  to  literary  pursuits  since  I 
was  six  years  of  age.  I  used  to  print  little  stories. 
My  mother  kept  them  all  and  they  were  sewed  up 
in  little  covers,  which  had  printed  on  them,  "Instruc- 
tive and  Improving  Stories  for  Young  Children." 
As  said  above,  nearly  all  my  writings  have  been 
with  reference  to  Ireland.  Before  I  close  I  will 
copy  a  poem  that  I  wrote  on  one  occasion  when  I 
was  very  ill.  It  was  written  about  three  years 
ago,  when  I  was  alone  with  my  friend,  Mrs.  Knoud, 
who  was  devoted  to  me  during  all  rny  illness  of 
many  weeks,  and  came  in  one  day  after  a  consulta- 
tion of  three  physicians  and  told  me  that  I  was 
dying.  I  remarked  that  I  was  not  dying,  but  the 
instance  left  an  impression  on  my  mind,  which 
resulted  in  the  penning  of  the  following  lines  : 

MALADI  DU  PAYS. 

I'm  sick ;  I'm  sick  with  absence,  with  loneliness  and  grief; 
I'm  sick;  I'm  sick  with  weakness — age  brings  me  no  relief. 
My  spirit,  vainly  turning,  seeks  for  some  fair  form  I  love ; 
Oh,  God !  'Tis  worse  than  dying,  for  there  is  no  hope  above. 

Mother !  Thy  warm  and  tender  arms  reach  to  me  from  the  past. 
Brother  I  Thine,  strong  and  circling,  were  too  great,  too  good  to  last. 
Father  !  Tho'  knowing  little  of  thy  grand  old  love  and-truth. 
My  spirit's  radiance  answered  thine  e'en  from  my  earliest  youth. 

Husband !  whose  simple  vow  formed  an  undercurrent  strong. 
Whereon  my  life  could  speed  imharmed  amid  a  happy  throng. 
Children  !  like  loving  flowers,  voices  like  living  songs. 
Immortal  music !  still  I  crave  your  soft  and  gentle  cheers. 
But  my  heart  grows  faint  with  sobbing,  my  eyes  dim  with  the  tears. 
Ah  1  what  a  goodly  lot  was  mine  !    What  sweetness  was  therein  I 


66  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Sweet  in  tlie  very  roses — in  Eden  without  sin — 

I  quench  my  thirst  with  bitterness — no  light  is  in  my  cloud, 

My  only  hope  that  time  will  make  of  grief  my  very  shroud. 

I'm  crushed;  I'm  crushed  and  writhing,  I  lie  so  lone  and  low, 
The  idle  wind  that  touches  seems  to  smite  me  as  a  blow, 
'Tis  chilling  to  my  ^oul — chill  as  an  ice-bound  breath. 
Chill  as  that  tyrant,  that  despair — chill  as  the  words  of  Death  ! 


Oh,  the  laughter,  song  and  dance,  when  my  spirit,  like  a  bird. 

Flew  forth  on  friendship's  greeting — flew  forth  on  love's  sweet  word — 

A  denizen  from  heaven  sent,  above  the  world  of  care ; 

Lightly  it  pressed  the  cloud,  pressed  light  e'en  the  very  air, 

For  it  all  things  were  pure  and  sweet,  it  was  so  true  and  fond  j 

The  present  seemed  a  heaven,  none  more  fair  could  seem  beyond. 

My  habits  have  always  been  very  studious  since 
quite  young,  especially  at  night,  being  the  quiet 
time  ;  my  custom  is  to  begin  to  write  when  every- 
body goes  to  bed,  when  only  the  ghosts  and 
the  rats  are  about.  I  frequently  begin  after 
midnight  and  write  until  the  dawn  of  the 
morning.  For  years  I  have  had  a  large  corre- 
spondence with  my  friends,  and 'I  answer  their 
letters  at  night.  I  rarely  get  more  than  three  of 
four  hours  sleep  out  of  the  twenty-four.  One 
thing  remarkable  about  myself,  is  my  eyesight. 
Though  I  am  now  nearly  seventy-six  years  of  age, 
I  have  never  needed  to  wear  glasses.  This 
remarkable  fact  also  applies  to  my  mother  and  my 
grandmother.  My  grandmother  died  at  ninety-two 
without  ever  having  used  spectacles,  and  my 
mother  at  seventy-five. 

**0LD   IRONSIDES,*'    MY   PRESENT  HOME. 

"  Old  Ironsides,'*  occupying  a  prominent  point 
overlooking  the  Delaware  at  Bordentown,  N.  J.,  is 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  ^^J 

the  same  house  which  used  to  be  called  ''  Mont- 
pelier."  The  old  mansion  was  bought  in  1816  by 
my  father.  It  was  then  an  immense  cottage,  with  a 
basement,  parlor  floor  and  garret.  My  father 
brought  me  here  as  an  infant  in  1 8 1 7.  This  was  his 
home  from  that  time  till  his  death.  The  nickname 
**01d  Ironsides,"  given  my  father,  came  from  the 
ship  Constitutiony  which  he  commanded  in  the 
United  States  Navy.  It  afterwards  attached  itself 
to  and  still  designates  this  place.  The  title  was  also 
given  him  because  it  was  so  applicable  to  himself, 
so  strong  and  active,  and  living  to  such  a  great  age. 
He  died  at  the  age  of  ninety-two  years.  When  he 
was  eighty-five  years  old  he  ran  up  a  tree  after 
a  boy  who  was  stealing  his  apples.  The  boy 
went  out  on  a  branch  and  my  father  followed 
him.  The  branch  was  not  strong  enough  and  both 
came  to  the  ground  without  hurting  either. 

I  am  often  asked  why  I  remain  on  the  old 
homestead — in  this  big  lonesome  house  alone. 
My  answer  is,  to  take  care  of  it  for  my  'family, 
hoping  and  believing  it  will  be  valuable  for  them 
when  they  want  it.  I  desire  to  preserve  it  in  the 
family  from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  home  of  my 
childhood  and  the  birthplace  of  my  only  brother, 
Gharles,  now  dead.  Also,  because  of  the  fact  that 
my  father  lived  here  for  more  than  half  a  century, 
arid  around  it  cling  all  the  fond  recollections  of  my 
infancy  and  early  childhood.  Sitting  at  the  win- 
dow in  my  old  age  I  look  out  upon  the  placid 


68  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

waters  of  the  majestic  Delaware,  flowing  to  the 
sea  with  the  same  graceful  curve  around  the 
grounds,  so  beautiful  and  grand,  looking  almost  as 
they  did  when  my  brother  and  I  in  early  childhood 
played  together  here.  The  old  cherry  tree  which 
we  used  to  climb  and  pick  the  fruit  from  is  still 
standing — my  eyes  are  looking  upon  it  now.  These 
ties  are  too  sacred  and  too  dear  to  my  heart  to 
give  up  in  my  declining  years.  These  facts,  aside 
from  the  belief  that  the  property  will  some  day  be 
valuable  to  my  impoverished  descendants  in 
Europe,  make  it  dearer  to  me.  I  cannot  leave  it. 
Times  are  growing  to  be  worse  and  worse  in 
Europe,  and  this  in  after  years  may  be  their  only 
asylum.  For  this  reason  only,  I  cling  desperately 
to  the  old  home.  I  have  written  this  sketch  for 
the  life  of  my  idolized  son,  who  came  to  his  un- 
timely death  through  over-exertion  in  behalf  of 
his  idolized  country.-  I  have  written  it  at  the 
request  of  the  publishers,  who  assure  me  that  in 
giving  his  life  and  public  service  to  the  country, 
they  are  doing  so  with  the  idea  of  holding  up  his 
virtues  and  beneficent  deeds  in  a  true  light  to  the 
world.  Whatever  else  I  may  have  done  in  life  in 
giving  such  a  son  as  this  to  the  Irish  poor,  I  feel 
that  I  have  contributed  to  humanity  a  blessing  and 
to  Ireland  a  boon,  that  the  lapse  of  coming  years 
can  never  efface.  If  he  has  planted  in  the  hearts 
of  the  Irish  people  the  ideas  of  liberty  and  of 
union,  which  shall  lead  them  finally  from  under  the 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  69 

thralldom  which  has  cursed  them  for  the  centuries 
gone  by,  I  shall  only  be  happy  and  satisfied  to 
have  paid  the  cost  which  has  wrung  from  my 
heart  many  bitter  tears  and  taken  from  me  the 
pride  of  my  life  in  the  prime  and  glory  of  his  man- 
hood. For  many  years  I  have  lived  alone,  so  far 
as  the  members  of  my  immediate  family  are  con- 
cerned. My  daughter  Fanny  spent  a  few  years 
with  me  here,  but  the  rest  of  my  children  have 
been,  by  the  hand  of  Providence,  kept  at  a  post 
of  duty  remote  from  me,  or  were  removed  by 
death. 

To  the  friends  of  Liberty  and  the  Irish  people, 
I  bequeath  my  life  and  the  memory  of  the  past. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

ANNA  AND    FANNY   PARNELL's  WORK. 

IT  was,  I  think,  on  or  about  January  ist,  1882, 
that  Miss  Anna  Parnell  was  first  brought  in 
a  prominent  manner  to  public  attention,  here  and 
elsewhere.  The  Gladstone  Coercion  Government 
had  expressly  forbidden  the  holding  of  Irish  polit- 
ical or  other  meetings,  threatening  those  who 
participated  in  them  with  arrest  and  imprison- 
ment. In  defiance  of  these  threats  she  presided 
over  a  largely  attended  meeting  of  the  central 
body  of  the  Ladies*  League,  in  Dublin,  on  the 
first  day  of  the  year.  On  the  following  day, 
as  if  to  mark  the  citizens*  approval  of  her 
intrepidity,  ithe  freedom  of  the  city  of  Dublin 
was  voted  to  John  Dillon  and  her  distinguished 
brother.  Many  of  her  literary  efforts  have 
been  published  in  this  country  and  in  Ireland 
and  England.  It  is  due  to  her  to  say  that  her 
works  were  almost  entirely,  like  those  of  her 
gifted  and  charming  sister,  Fanny,  devoted  to  the 
Irish  cause.  In  it  their  young  lives  were  enlisted, 
and  no  danger  was  too  great,  no  risks  too  perilous 
to  swerve  them  in  the  least  from  what  they  felt  to 
70 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNfiLL.  71 

be  more  than  a  duty.  Their  devotion  to  Ireland 
manifested  itself  in  every  act.  She  died  suddenly 
at  Bordentown,  N.  J.,  July  19th,  1882.  Her 
patriotic  mother  says  of  her :  "  While  I  was  iti 
Ireland,  Fanny  went  out  but  little  in  society,  being 
so  young;  but  Lord  Carlisle  always  said  she  was 
the  loveliest  in  the  room  whenever  she  appeared, 
and  the  beauty  of  her  complexion  was  such  that 
Henry  Doyle,  the  brother  of  Richard  Doyle,  who 
illustrated  *  Punch,'  said  it  fairly  lit  up  the  boxes 
where  she  sat  at  the  theatre.  She  went  to  reside 
with  her  sister  Delia,  Mrs.  Thompson,  in  Paris, 
and  there  made  an  immense  sensation.  Accounts 
of  her  wit  and  beauty  appeared  in  the  Figaro  of 
that  day.  Her  aunt,  Lady  Howard,  Belgrave 
Square,  London,  invited  her  to  stop  with  her. 
One  day,  after  Fanny's  arrival,  on  returning  from 
riding  in  the  park  with  her  uncle,  the  footman 
came  down  the  steps  and  said  that  Lady  Howard 
was  dead.  After  my  establishment  in  Temple 
Street  was  broken  up,  I  took  my  three  younger 
daughters  with  me  to  my  brother's  in  Paris. 
Fanny  studied  painting  in  oils  there  and  my  brother 
did  all  in  his  power  by  giving  parties  and  having 
receptions  to  render  Fanny's  stay  with  him 
delightful.  His  carriage  and  horses  were  at  our 
service.  People  said  Fanny  was  destined  to  be  a 
grande  Dame,  the  wife  of  some  great  character, 
taking  an  active  part  both  in  diplomatic  and  polit- 
ical life.    Diplomatists  surrounded  her,  entranced 


72  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

by  her  flow  of  sparkling  wit,  her  beautiful  style, 
*  like  that  of  a  princess  *  they  said.  She  had  a 
systematic  routine  of  occupation  and  cultivated  her 
talents.  She  thought  nothing  of  her  dress,  but 
let  me  dress  her  as  I  liked.  She  took  part  in 
tableaux  with  great  effect.  She  appeared  once 
as  the  Angel  at  the  Gates  of  Paradise.  A  wealthy 
gentleman,  afterwards  made  a  Duke  by  the 
Emperor  Napoleon,  persisted  for  two  years  in  try- 
ing to  get  Fanny  to  accept  him.  My  brother's 
reception  rooms  were  always  full  of  visitors,  and 
the  file  of  young  Frenchmen  was  like  that  at  a 
regal  drawing  room.  I  took  her  out  in  London, 
too,  for  a  few  months.  Then  my  dear  brother 
became  ill  and  died  at  Rome  and  I  had  to  come 
to  this  country  to  administer  his  property.  My 
son  Charles,  always  so  kind  and  careful,  would 
not  let  me  come  alone,  but  sent  Fanny  with  me. 
Our  stay  in  America  has,  with  few  exceptions, 
been  terrible  and  heartrending,  to  none  more  a 
detriment  than  to  poor  Fanny.  Here  she  got 
malaria.  Here  her  nerves  gave  way.  Here  she 
died  of  exhaustion  and  a  weak  heart  after  walking 
through  the  hot  sun  to  provide  entertainment  for 
Mr.  Michael  Davitt  and  Mr.  W.  Redmond,  whom 
she  had  invited  to  Ironsides.  She  begged  me  not 
to  return  here  then  as  she  wanted  to  have  an  undis- 
turbed talk  with  Davitt.  Her  one  continual 
thought  was  her  brother,  her  country,  Ireland,  and 
the  poor  Irish,  and  the  Irish  movement.    When  I 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  73 

came  back  she  said  to  me  with  extreme  ^distress 
and  terror;  *0  Mama,  Davitt  hates  Charlie  1'  I 
said,  *Oh,  no,  my  dear,  you  mistake.'" 

A    LOVELY    HEROINE. 

An  accomplished  writer  in  London  Truth  says 
of  Miss  Anna  Parnell :  "  In  snowy  weather  Miss 
Parnell  used  to  wear  out-of-door  skirts  of  Bloomer 
shortness,  and  Wellington  boots.  She  was  a 
girl  of  a  nervous,  resolute  disposition— wayward, 
a  little  snappish,  and  absolute  mistress  of  the 
house ;  but  she  was  liked  by  humble  neighbors, 
with  whom,  in  their  trials,  she  often  commiserated. 
Her  mother  and  elder  sisters  were  frequent 
absentees,  and  her  brothers  were  away  at  school. 
The  late  Mr.  Parnell  read  and  thought  a  good 
deal,  administered  justice  as  a  magistrate  in  a  fair 
and  benignant  way.  Had  he  been  a  person  of 
active  habits.  Miss  Annans  destiny  would  have 
taken  another  shape.  From  infancy  she  had  been 
troubled  with  a  good  deal  of  febrile  energy,  which 
she  took  from  the  American  side  of  the  house. 
Unhappily  for  her,  no  outlet  by  which  she  could 
work  it  off  was  afforded  to  hen  The  rector  of 
the  parish  and  his  wife  were  well-intentioned 
persons,  but  purse-proud,  narrow-minded  Philis- 
tines. Miss  Anna  thought  them  humbugs.  They 
were  unable  to  perceive  that  she  had  some  fine 
qualities,  and  ascribed*  her  marked  individuality 
to    bad    American    form.     On   the   whole,   she 


74  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

appeared  to  them  an  undesirable  young  lady  for 
their  son  to  fall  in  love  with,  and  they  were  afraid 
two  pretty  daughters  of  the  wax-doll  type  would 
not  be  improved  by  associating  with  her.  They 
might  as  well  have  feared  the  example  of  a 
mountain  goat  upon  sheep  reared  in  a  grassy 
park.  As  the  curate's  wife  was  in  the  unfortunate 
position  of  the  little  woman  that  lived  in  a  shoe, 
she  did  not  venture  to  strike  up  a  friendship  with 
a  girl  who  was  counted  eccentric,  self-willed  and 
ungenteel  at  the  rectory.  Miss  Anna  had  no 
intimate  friendship  to  soften  a  nature  in  which 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  steel,  heated  too  often 
by  a  brooding  fancy.  The  persons  of  her  age 
and  sex  in  the  neighborhood  who  inspired  her 
with  most  sympathy  were  not  on  her  social  plane. 
They  were  the  daughters  of  one  Commeford,  a 
rich  miller  and  freeholder,  whose  picturesque 
grounds  were  only  separated  from  Avondale  by 
those  of  the  glebe  house." 

The  Misses  Commeford  were  Roman  Catholics, 
which,  in  Ireland  more  than  twenty  years  ago, 
was  a  barrier  to  intimate  acquaintance  with 
Protestant  families.  They  were  open-hearted 
and  winsome  girls,  who  hunted  daringly  on  clever 
horses,  and  had  all  the  accomplishments  which 
are  to  be  acquired  in  a  first-class  conventional 
school  in  Dublin.  But  they  had  bounded  minds, 
which  were  unable  to  take  in  Carlyle,  or  soar  to 
transcendental    heights   with    Emerson.      "The 


CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL.  75 

Bride  of  Abydos  "  was  not  too  old  fashioned  to 
excite  their  enthusiasm.  Anna  Parnell  could  not 
endure  the  meek  heroine  of  that  poem,  after 
whom  so  many  French  dogs  are  called.  She 
was  a  reader,  even  then,  of  New  York  and  Bos- 
ton journals,  and  had  dipped  into  the  lectures  of 
American  oratoresses  who  stood  on  the  equal 
rights  platform.  The  mental  inferiority  to  which 
women  were  condemned  by  ecclesiastical  authority 
was  accepted  as  a  matter  of  course  by  the  miller's 
pleasant  daughters,  but  it  galled  Miss  Anna  and 
chilled  her  sympathy  for  them.  '"If  they  had 
revolted  against  St.  Paul  she  would  have  been 
their  close  friend  in  spite  of  the  castle  prejudices 
that  stood  between  her  and  them. 

Mrs.  Parnell  denied  the  alleged  perfection  of 
the  British  Constitution,  and  the  young  Parnells 
imbibed  Fourth-of-July  ideas  about  George  III., 
and  other  members  of  the  royal  family,  with 
whose  inherited  infirmities  they  were  made 
acquainted.  Visits  to  the  States,  and  intercourse 
with  American  relatives  and  friends,  gave  an  un- 
English  bias  to  their  minds,  and  opened  their 
eyes  to  see  many  things  in  their  native  land  which 
might  otherwise  have  remained  unperceived. 
Miss  Anna  was  old  enough  when  Mrs.  Beecher 
Stowe  was  being  lionized  in  Europe  to  take  an 
interest  in  the  controversy  aroused  in  America 
by  a  message  on  the  slavery  question  from  the 
Duchess  of  Sutherland  and  other  noble  ladies  to 


7G  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

their  sisters  in  the  United  States.  There  was 
a  fearful  beam  in  the  eye  of  Stafford  House-— the 
Sutherland  evictions,  the  memory  of  which  was 
still  fresh  in  America.  Miss  Parnell,  in  different 
harangues  to  Irish  peasants,  has  charged  the 
late  Lord  Carlisle  with  having  advised  the  land- 
lords of  the  sister  isle  to  imitate  the  Sutherland 
example  in  clearing  off  tenants  and  converting 
their  estates  into  grazing  farms.  That  amiable 
nobleman  had  not  witnessed  the  evictions  and 
had  seen  the  sheep-runs  on  his  brother-in-law's 
North  of  Scotland  estates.  If  he  had  known 
what  inhuman  cruelty  had  been  practised,  he 
would  have  been  the  last  man  in  the  world  to 
say  to  the  Whig  nobles  who  possess  tracts  of 
land  in  Ireland:  "  Make  this  country  the  teeming 
mother  of  innumerable  flocks  and  herds."  Charles 
Stewart  Parnell  is  bound  to  Ireland  by  the  Avon- 
dale  estate.  Miss  Anna's  attachment  to  the 
country  and  the  people  had  hindered  her  from 
settling  in  the  United  States,  where  she  had  a 
brother  and  sister.  The  former  owns  in  Alabama 
the  largest  peach  orchard  in  the  world.  Al- 
though "  a  woman  of  steel,"  the  Home  Ruleress 
has  poetic  sensibilities.  She  loved  the  old  trees 
at  Avondale,  the  river  in  the  deep  glen,  the  weep- 
ing sky  with  short  sunbursts,  and  the  whistling 
wind,  which  to  her  ears  is  full  of  music.  The 
vale  of  Avoca  is  seen  by  her  through  a  prism 
colored  by  the  national  melodist.     Since  Moore's 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  77 

time,  great  has  been  the  deterioratidn  6f  the 
scenery  there.  "  The  purest  of  crystal "  is  sullied 
by  water  pumped  from  lead  and  copper  mines. 
"  The  brightest  of  green "  has  been  effaced  by 
the  mounds  of  rubbish  which  the  miners  cast  up. 
Miss  Parnell  has  the  prompt  intellect  of  a  New. 
Englander.  Her  ideas  rapidly  generate  actions ; 
but  if  her  head  is  hard  it  is  not  cruel.  Excitable 
nerves  dominate  her.  "  She  has  the  courage  of 
her  opinion.*'  "You  surely  ddn*t  think  they 
would  dare  to  shoot  him  ? "  said  an  English 
tourist,  who  had  got  by  accident  into  a  conversa- 
tion with  her  about  a  fearless  and  almost  ruthless 
agent. 

"  I'm  afraid  not,"  was  the  terrible  reply.  "  In 
these  parts  anger  evaporates  in  threats.',' 

Her  zeal  in  accomplishing  her  self-appointed 
mission  eats  her  up.  There  have  been  occasions 
on  which  she  has  had  reason  to  congratulate  her- 
self on  her  remarkable  slenderness.  However 
tired  a  horse  may  be,  he  is  always  strong  enough 
to  carry  Miss  Parnell.  In  the  reign  of  Forster 
she  hid  from  constables  supposed  to  be  in  pur- 
suit of  her  by  merely  standing  behind  a  poplar 
tree.  On  one  occasion  she  went  to  witness  two 
evictions  and  to  harangue  the  martyrs  of  land- 
lordism and  their  friends.  The  cottages  from 
which  the  tenants  were  to  be  ejected  faced  each 
other,  but  were  on  opposite  sides  of  a  large  river. 
A  bridge  was  at  some  distance  below  them. 


78  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

After  the  first  part  of  the  sub-sherifFs  task  was 
got  through,  he  instructed  the  policemen  not  to  let 
Miss  Anna  Parnell  nor  any  of  her  following  over 
the  bridge.  This  done,  he  proceeded  to  cross  it 
himself.  He  was  apprehensive  that  she  might 
call  upon  the  victims  and  those  who  came'  to 
sympathize  with  them  to  oblige  him  to  beat  a 
hasty  retreat.  But  the  excited  lady  was  not  to 
be  baulked.  She,  for  a  moment,  looked  keenly 
at  the  strong-flowing  river.  No  boat  was  visible. 
A  notion  flashed  across  her  brain.  "  Is  there  any 
one  here,"  she  demanded,  "  who  has  ever  waded 
in  rainy  weather  like  this  to  the  other  side  ?  "  A 
tall  fellow,  in  knee-breeches  and  a  patched-up 
coat,  stepped  forward  to  answer  in  the  affirmative. 
"  How  deep  is  it  in  the  deepest  place  ?  "  asked 
Miss  Anna.  "Up  to  my  arm-pit."  "Do  you 
know  how  to  swim?"  "I  do,  your  ladyship." 
"  So  that  if  you  lose  your  balance  and  fall  you 
can  still  keep  your  head  above  water  ? "  "  That  I 
can."  "Well,  put  me  sitting  on  your  shoulder 
and  wade  over  with  me."  The  man  was  only 
too  proud  to  obey.  He  gallantly  descended  into 
the  river,  assuring  Miss  Parnell  that  she  weighed 
no  heavier  than  a  feather.  She  was  at  the  second 
cottage  before  the  sub-sheriff  reached  it.  During 
her  manifestly  dangerous  passage  through  the 
river  nobody  thought  of  the  evictions.  Her 
skirts  were  drenched,  for  the  water  was  up  in 
some  parts  to  the  man's  chin.     It  seemed  mirac- 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  79 

ulcus  that  both  were  not  swept  away.  She  was 
greeted  on  landing  with  cries  of  "  Long  life  to 
your  ladyship !  *'  This  action,  much  more  than 
her  orations,  explains  her  influence  with  the  com- 
mon people.  So  long  as  the  Avondale  Home 
Ruleress  keeps  in  the  van  of  the  Nationalist 
army,  her  brother  will  not  be  thrown  over  by  the 
advanced  section  of  the  Land  League,  because 
she  has  numbers  on  her  side. 

"  My  son  was  just  then  out  of  prison.  It  was 
Fanny  who  induced  me  to  help  the  Irish  Land 
League  in  every  way  possible  to  me.  She  was 
one  of  those  who  begged  her  brother  to  come  to 
this  country.  The  last  year  of  her  life  she  said 
she  would  never  forgive  herself  for  having  pre- 
vailed on  her  brother  to  come  to  America.  She 
made  a  trip  through  New  York  and  other  States 
and  Canada  in  the  interest  of  the  Ladies*  Land 
League.  She  seemed  then  strong  the  autumn 
before  her  death.  She  spoke  with  great  delight 
of  the  iionesty,  fervor  and  kindness  of  the  Ca- 
nadian Irish  Land  Leaguers,  and  thought  them 
much  more  zealous  and  earnest  than  the  Amer- 
ican members  of  the  order. 

"  Not  being  able  to  lecture  much,  she  continued 
to  write  and  to  reply  to  all  letters  to  her  concern- 
ing the  Irish  Land  League,  a  great  task.  She 
kept  up  a  busy  correspondence  with  her  sister 
Anna,  then  in  the  Irish  National  League  in  Dublin. 
Certainly  a  great  difference  between  her  happy, 


80  CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL. 

peaceful  time  in  Dublin,  her  brilliant  time  in  Paris 
and  London,  and  her  time  of  devotion  in  aiding 
her  brother's  movement,  often  doing  the  work  of 
her  friends  in  addition  to  her  own. 

"  She  threw  herself  out  of  her  social  sphere,  like 
her  brother,  just  at  the  time  when  she  might  have 
made  a  great  home,  had  loving  ones  about  her, 
and  chosen  enjoyments,  interests  and  occupations 
wherein  her  great  talents,  which  amounted  to 
genius,  would  have  shown  pre-eminent  and  gained 
celebrity  for  her;  where  her  pen  would  haye 
been  useful,  honorable  and  profitable  in  many 
ways.  She  was  almost  miraculously  gifted  with 
penetration,  knowledge  of  character,  wisdom, 
decision,  strength  of  mind  and  a  great,  a  generous 
spirit  free  from  fault  or  weakness.  Her  unsel- 
fishness and  benevolence  were  wonderful.  Such 
perfect  beings  die  young.  Their  path  is  one  of 
undiminished  lustre  that  can  end  only  in  Heaven 
and  that  soon.'* 

Tributes  to  the  memory  of  the  young  song- 
stress, who  was  so  suddenly  cut  off  in  the  bloom 
of  her  youth,  appeared  in  prose  and  verse  in  the 
daily  newspapers  and  in  the  weekly  and  monthly 
periodicals  and  magazines  published  here,  in 
Europe  and  in  the  Australian  colonies.  Branches 
of  the  Land  League  everywhere  met  and  heard 
sympathetic  speeches  and  passed  resolutions,  all 
in  the  same  sentiment,  regretful  of  her  loss,  grate- 
ful and  appreciative  of  her  continuous  and  un- 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  81 

selfish  services  in  the  cause  of  Irish  freedom.  A 
few  of  the  poetic  effusions,  humble  violets  on  her 
grave,  will  give  our  readers  a  faint  idea  of  the 
estimation  in  which  she  was  held. 

FANNY  PARNELL. 

Died  July  20,  1882. 

BY  PATRICK  SARSFIELD  CASSIDY. 

Dead?    Oh,  it  can't  be — it  must  not  be  so — 
No ;  the  blurred  print  but  mocks  our  dull  eyes  ; 

For  our  spirits  refuse  to  acknowledge  the  blow. 
Or  our  minds  to  such  loss  realize. 

Our  hearts  turn  rebels  to  such  a  decree, 
E'en  the  hand  that  approved  were  Divine — 

What !  she,  our  young  Priestess— but  no,  it  can't  be — 
/    Stricken  down  at  the  steps  of  the  shrine. 

Tell  us  not,  tell  us  not,  that  the  form  we  have  loved. 

So  instinct  with  young  resolute  life, 
And  the  genius  that  lit  up  our  cause,  are  removed 

From  our  side  in  the  thick  of  the  strife, 
A  warrior's  heart  in  a  maiden's  frail  form — 

Strength  softened  by  womanly  grace — 
Was  hers ;  and  a  spirit  to  ride  on  the  storm 

When  it  broke  on  the  foe  of  our  race. 

i^p  thought  in  the  limitless  spaces  of  mind. 

No  pain  in  the  heart's  widest  zone. 
Was  farther  away  than  that  she  who  had  twined 

Herself  round  our  hearts  as  our  own 
Should  sink  in  death's  sleep  in  a  moment  like  this, 

When  the  battle-wave  swells  at  full  tide, 
And  Liberty's  dawn  is  ascending  to  kiss 

The  land  of  her  love  and  her  pride. 

Oh,  it  surely  can't  be  that  her  spirit  has  pass'd 

From  the  struggle  in  hour  so  supreme, 
When  the  glorious  result  that  her  prescience  forecast 

In  the  future=decipherlng  dream 


82  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Of  the  poet,  seems  nearing  a  truth— 

When  the  transfiguration's  at  hand 
Of  a  people,  enslaved  beyond  mercy  or  ruth, 

Rising  up  as  a  free-born  Land ! 

Has  she,  whose  young  soul  was  our  battle's  bright  star, 

That  flashed  living  light  through  the  gloom. 
That  warmed  us  and  thrilled  us  in  righteousness'  war. 

Has  she  gone  to  the  gloom  of  the  tomb  ? 
Has  the  light-flashing  banner  she  bore  in  the  throng 

Of  the  conflict  gone  down  in  the  dust  ? 
Does  the  malice  of  fate  that  pursued  us  so  long 

Seek  to  break  the  last  chord  of  our  trust? 

It  can't  be,  and  my  heart  from  its  innermost  core 

Refuses  its  faith  to  the  tale ; 
Were  it  so  I  would  hear  from  her  Erin's  far  shore 

Every  wave  on  the  strand  give  a  wail ; 
And  the  gloom  that  would  shadow  the  face  of  her  land 

Would  in  sympathy  seek  out  my  soul, 
And  plunge  it  in  gloom  beyond  words'  poor  command, 

And  grief  beyond  powers  of  control. 

Ah,  no,  it  can't  be  that  her  spirit,  so  rare, 

With  liberty's  lightnings  aflame. 
With  courage  that  mocked  the  grim  face  of  despair, 

And  put  cowardly  doubtings  to  shame — 
It  can't  be  that  it's  gone  ere  her  eyes  had  beheld  ^ 

The  glory  of  Erin  reborn — 
That  her  requiem  bell  in  our  hearts  should  be  knell' d 

*Mid  the  salvos  of  Liberty's  mom. 

The  flash  of  her  spirit,  the  sweep  of  her  powers, 

The  verve  and  fire  of  her  song. 
The  lightnings  she  hurled  against  Tyranny's  towers. 

The  blows  that  she  dealt  unto  wrong- 
Are  they  lost  to  our  cause  when  the  beautiful  face 

Of  success  flushes  fair  on  our  flag — 
When  the  sun-blaze  she  yearned  for  bids  fair  to  replace 

The  cloud  upon  mountain  and  crag  ? 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  -83 

Have  the  lips — truly  touched  by  celestial  fire — 

That  suiig  Erin's  deep  agony, 
Been  hushed  when  the  poets,  in  jubilee  choir. 

Are  weaving  the  song  of  the  free  ? 
Is  the  ear  stricken  deaf  that  but  loved  Erin's  praise 

In  the  days  of  her  squalor  and  shame, 
When  the  harpings  and  shoutings  and  banner's  bright  blaze 

Give  welcome  to  freedom  and  fame  ? 

Personified  spirit  of  Erin  I  not  dead 

Art  thou  unto  us  and  thy  land ; 
No  grave  'mid  the  earth- damps,  no  vault's  narrow  bed. 

Could  hold  thee  in  mortal  command. 
Yes ;  your  heart  in  its  cere-clothes  would  quiver  and  toss 

Till  it  rent  them  apart,  and  you  stood, 
Transfigured  and  glorified,  looking  across 

The  battle's  wrong-whelming  flood ! 

No,  thou  art  not  dead,  beloved  sister  of  song; 

Thy  spirit  and  Erin's  are  one. 
And  active  still  must  be  thy  war  upon  wrong 

'Till  the  centuried  crimes  are  undone. 
The  brain  that  fed  ours  shall  continue  to  feed — 

The  genius  that  guided  to  guide-— 
Oh,  passionate  priestess  of  Liberty's  creed. 

Such  spirit  as  thine  never  died ! 

^New  YoxVy  Jufy,  1882. 


THE  DEAD  SINGER. 

BY  JOHN  BOYLE  O'rEILLY,   IN  THE  PILOT. 

"She  is  dead  I  "  they  say;  "she  is  robed  for  the  grave;  there  are  lilies 

upon  her  breast : 
Her  mother  has  kissed  her  clay-cold  lips,  and  folded  her  hands  to  rest; 
Her  blue  eyes  show  thro'  the  waxen  lids :  they  have  hidden  her  hair's 

golden  crown ; 
Her  grave  is  dug,  and  its  heap  of  earth  is  waiting  to  press  her  down." 

**  She  is  dead  I  "  they  say  to  the  people— her  people  for  whom  she  sung, 
Whose  hearts  she  touched  with  sorrow  and  love,  like  a  harp  with  life- 
chords  strung. 


84  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

And  the  people  hear— but  behind  their  tear  they  smile  as  though  they 

heard 
Another  voice  like  a  Mystery  proclaim  another  word. 

"She  is  not  dead!"  it  says  to  their  hearts;  "true  Singers  can  never 

die: 
Their  life  is  a  voice  of  higher  things  unseen  by  the  common  eye ; 
The  truths  and  the  beauties  are  clear  to  them,  God's  right  and  the  human 

wrong, 
The  heroes  who  die  unknown,  and  the  weak  who  are  chained  and  scourged 

by  the  strong." 
And  the  people  smile  at  the  death-word,  for  the  mystic  voice  is  clear : 
"The  Singer  who  lived  is  always  alive;  we  hearken  and 

always  hear." 

And  they  raise  her  body  with  tender  hands  and  bear  her  down  to  the 

main, 
They  lay  her  in  state  on  the  mourning  ship,  like  the  lily-maid  Elaine ; 
And  they  sail  to  her  isle  across  the  sea,  where  the  people  wait  on  the 

shore 
To  lift  her  in  silence  with  heads  all  bared  to  her  home  for  evermore — 
Her  home  in  the  heart  of  her  country — Oh,  a  grave  among  our  own 
Is  warmer  and  sweeter  than  living  on  in  the  stranger  lands  alone  I 

No  need  of  a  tomb  for  the  Singer !     Her  fair  hair's  pillow  now 

Is  the  sacred  clay  of  her  country,  and  the  sky  above  her  brow 

Is  the  same  that  smiled  and  wept  on  her  youth,  and  the  grass  around  is 

deep 
With  the  clinging  leaves  of  the  shamirockthat  cover  her  peaceful  sleep. 
Undreaming  there  she  will  rest  and  wait,  in  the  tomb  her  people  make. 
Till  she  hears  men's  hearts  like  the  seeds  in  Spring  aU  stirring  to  be 

awake. 
Till  she  feels  the  motion  of  souls  that  strain  till  the  bands  that  bind  them 

break ; 
And  then,  I  think,  her  dead  lips  will  smile  and  her  eyes  be  raised  to  see, 
When  the  cry  goes  out  to  the  Nations  that  the  Singer's  land  is  free ! 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE  PATRIOT*S  CAREER. 


Of  all  his  old-time  friends  and  honored  col- 
leagues, few  knew  more  of  Charles  Stewart 
Parnell's  history  and  inner  life  than  the  Hon. 
T.  P.  O'Connor,  who  says  of  him : 

Grip  and  grit:  in  these  two  words  are  told 
the  secret  of  Mr.  Parnell's  marvellous  success 
and  marvellous  hold  over  men.  When  once 
he  has  made  up  his  mind  to  a  thing  he  is 
inflexible;  immovable  by  affection  or  fear  or 
reasoning.  He  knows  what  he  wants,  and  he  is 
resolved  to  have  it.  Throughout  his  career  he 
has  often  had  to  make  bargains ;  he  has  never  yet 
been  known  to  make  one  in  which  he  gave  up  a 
single  iota  which  he  could  hold.  But  it  takes 
time  before  one  discovers  these  qualities.  In 
ordinary  circumstances  Mr.  Parnell  is  apparently 
the  most  easy-going  of  men.  Though  he  is  not 
emotional  or  effusive,  he  is  genial  and  unaffected 
to  a  degree ;  listens  to  all  comers  with  an  air  of 
real  deference,  especially  if  they  be  good  talkers ; 
and  apparently  allows  himself  to  follow  implicitly 
the  guidance  of  those  who  are  speaking  to  him. 
He  is  for  this  reason  one  of  the  most  agreeable 
of  companions,  never  raising  any  difficulties  about 
trifles,  ready  to  subject  his  will  and  his  conven- 
ience to  that  of  others ;  amiable,  unpretending,  a 

85 


85  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

splendid  listener,  a  delightful  host.  But  all  the 
softness  and  the  pliancy  disappear  when  the 
moment  comes  for  decisive  action.  After  days 
of  apparent  wavering,  he  suddenly  becomes 
granite.  His  decision  is  taken,  and  once  taken 
is  irrevocable.  He  goes  right  on  to  the  end, 
whatever  it  may  be.  In  some  respects,  indeed, 
he  bears  a  singular  resemblance  to  General 
Grant;  he  has  his  council  of  war,  and  nobody 
could  be  a  more  patient  or  more  respectful  lis- 
tener,  and,  ordinarily,  nobody  more  ready  to  have 
his  thinking  done  for  him  by  others.  But  when 
affairs  reach  a  great  climax,  it  is  his  own  judg- 
ment upon  which  he  acts,  and  upon  that  alone. 

Mr.  Parnell  has  not  a  large  gift  of  expression. 
He  hates  public  speaking,  and  avoids  a  crowd 
with  a  nervousness  that  sometimes  appears  almost 
feminine.  He  likes  to  steal  through  crowded 
streets  in  a  long,  heavy  Ulster  and  a  small 
smoking-cap  that  effectually  conceal  his  identity, 
and  when  he  is  in  Ireland  is  only  happy  when  the 
quietness  of  Avondale  secludes  him  from  all  eyes 
but  those  of  a  few  intimates.  From  his  want  of 
any  love  of  expressing  himself,  it  often  happens 
that  he  leaves  a  poor  impression  on  those  who 
meet  him  casually.  More  than  one  man  has 
thought  that  he  was  litde  better  than  a  simpleton, 
and  their  mangled  reputations  strew  the  path  over 
which  the  Juggernaut  of  Parneirs  fortunes  and 
genius  has  mercilessly  passed.     He  is  incapable 


HON.  T.  P.  O  CONNOR.  M    P 


Sg  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

of  giving  the  secret  of  his  power,  or  of  explaining 
the  reasons  of  his  decisions.  He  judges  wisely, 
with  instinctive  wisdom,  just  as  Millais  paints ;  he 
is  always  politically  right,  because,  so  to  speak,  he 
cannot  help  it.  This  want  of  any  great  power 
and  any  great  desire  to  expose  the  line  of  reason^ 
ing  by  which  he  has  reached  his  conclusions  has 
often  exposed  Parnell  to  misunderstandings  and 
strong  differences  of  opinion  even  with  those  who 
respect  and  admire  him.  The  invariable  result  is 
that,  when  time  has  passed,  those  who  have  dif- 
fered from  him  admit  that  they  were  wrong  and 
he  right,  and  once  more  have  a  fatalistic  belief  in 
his  sagacity.  Often  he  does  not  speak  for  days 
to  any  of  his  friends,  and  is  seldom  even  seen  by 
them.  He  knows  the  enormous  advantage  some- 
times of  pulling  wires  from  an  invisible  point. 
During  this  absence  his  friends  occasionally  fret 
and  fume  and  wonder  whether  he  knows  every- 
thing that  is  going  on  ;  and,  when  their  impatience 
has  reached  its  climax,  Parnell  appears,  and  lo !  a 
great  combination  has  been  successfully  laid,  and 
the  Irish  are  within  the  citadel  of  some  time- 
honored  and  apparently  immortal  wrong.  Simi^ 
larly  it  is  with  Parneirs,  nerve.  In  ordinary  times 
he  occasionally  appears  nervous  and  fretful  arid 
pessimistic ;  in  the  hour  of  crisis  he  is  calm,  gay, 
certain  of  victory,  with  the  fanaticism  of  a  Mussul- 
man, unconscious  of  danger,  with  a  blindness  half 
boyish,  half  divine. 


g 


90 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 


Mr.  Parnell  is  not  a  man  of  large  literary 
reading,  but  he  is  a  severe  and  constant  student 
of  scientific  subjects,  and  is  especially  devoted  to 
mechanics.  It  is  one  of  his  amusements  to  isolate 
himself  from  the  enthusiastic  crowds  that  meet 
him  everywhere  in  Ireland,  and,  in  a  room  by 
himself,  to  find  delight  in  mathematical  books. 
He  is  a  constant  reader  of  engineering  and  other 
mechanical  papers,  and  he  takes  the  keenest  in- 
terest in  machinery.  It  is  characteristic  of  the 
modesty  and,  at  the  same  time,  scornfulnes"^  of  his 
nature,  that  all  through  the  many  attacks  made 
upon  him  by  gentlemen  who  wear  their  hearts 
upon  their  sleeves,  he  has  never  once  made  allusion 
to  his  own  strong  love  of  animals ;  but  to  his 
friends  he  often  expressed  his  disgust  for  the 
outrages  that,  during  a  portion  of  the  agitation  in 
Ireland,  were  occasionally  committed  upon  them. 
He  did  not  express  these  sentiments  in  public, 
for  the  good  reason  that  he  regarded  the  outcry 
raised  by  some  of  the  Radicals  as  part  of  the 
gospel  of  cant  for  which  that  section  of  the 
Liberal  party  is  especially  distinguished.  To 
hear  a  man  like  Mr.  Forster  refusing  a  word  of 
sympathy,  in  one  breath,  for  whole  housefuls  of 
human  beings  turned  out  by  a  felonious  landlord 
to  die  by  the  roadside,  and,  in  the  next,  demanding 
the  suppression  of  the  liberties  of  a  nation  be- 
cause half-a-dozen  of  cattle  had  their  tails  cut  off; 
to  see  the  same  men  who  howled  in  delight  be- 


EVICTED'-iiOMELESS. 


Q2  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

cause  the  apostle  of  a  great  humane  movement, 
like  Mr.  Davitt,  had  been  sent  to  the  horrors  of 
penal  servitude,  shuddering  over  the  ill-usage  of 
a  horse,  was  quite  enough  to  rnake  even  the  most 
humane  man  regard  this  professed  love  of  an- 
imals as  but  another  item  in  the  grand  total  of 
their  hypocrisy;  Mr.  Parnell  regards  the  lives  of 
human  beings  as  more  sacred  than  even  those  of 
animals,  and  he  is  consistent  in  his  hatred  of  op- 
pression and  cruelty  wherever  they  may  be  found. 
His  sympathies  are  with  the  fights  of  freedom 
everywhere,  and  he  often  spoke  in  the  strongest 
terms  of  his  disgust  for  the  butcheries  in  the 
Soudan,  which  the  Liberals,  who  wept  over  Irish 
horses,  and  Irish  cows,  received  with  such  Olym- 
pian calm.  In  1867  the  ideas  that  had  been  sown 
in  his  mind  in  childhood  first  began  to  mature; 
His  mother  was  then,  as  probably  throughout  her 
life,  a  strong  Nationalist,  and  so  was  at  least  one) 
of  his  sisters.  Thus  Mr.  Parnell,  in  entering  upon 
political  life,  was  reaching  the  natural  sequel  of 
his  own  descent,  of  his  early  training,  of  the 
strongest  tendencies  of  his  own  nature.  It  is 
not  easy  to  describe  the  mental  life  of  a  man  who 
is  neither  expansive  nor  introspective.  It  is  one 
of  the  strongest  and  most  curious  peculiarities 
of  Mr.  Parnell,  not  merely  that  he  rarely,  if  ever, 
speaks  of  himself,  but  that  he  rarely,  if  ever, 
gives  any  indication  of  having  studied  himself. 
His  mind,  if  one  may  use   the    jargon   of   the. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  93 

Germans,  is  purely  objective.  There  are  few 
men  who,  after  a  certain  length  of  acquaintance, 
do  not  familiarize  you  with  the  stat^  of  their 
hearts  or  their  stomiachs  or  their  finances ;  with 
their  fears,  their  hopes,  their  aims.  But  no  man 
has  ever  been  a  confidant  of  Mr.  Parnell.  Any 
allusion  to  himself  by  another,  either  in  the  exu- 
berance of  friendship  or  the  design  of  flattery, 
is  passed  by  unheeded ;  and  it  is  a  joke  among 
his  intimates  that  to  Mr.  Parnell  the  being 
Parnell  does  not  exist. 

It  is  plain  from,  the  facts  we  have  narrated 
that  Parnell's  great  strength  is  one  which  lies  in 
his  character  rather  than  in  his  attainments.  Yet 
his  wonderful  successes  won  in  the  face  of  nu=^ 
merous  and  most  bitter  opponents  testify  to 
mental  abilities  of  a  very  high  order.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone has  said  of  him,* "  No  man,  as  far  as  I  can 
judge,  is  more  successful  than  the  hon.  member 
in  doing  that  which  it  is  commonly  supposed  that 
all  speakers  do,  but  which  in  my  opinion  few 
really  do — and  I  do  not  include  myself  among 
those  few— namely,  in  saying  what  he  means  to 
say."  Mr.  Parnell  is  moreover  very  strong  in 
not  saying  the  thing  which  should-  not  be  said. 
Too  many  of  his  countrymen,  it  may  be  safely  as- 
serted, are  of  that  hasty  and  impulsive  tem- 
perament which  may  betray,  by  a  word  prema- 
turely spoken,  some  point  which  should  have  been 
held  from   the  enemy,  and  which   might  easily 


94  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

have  been  made,  at  some  later  time,  a  stronghold 
of  defence  in  the  parliamentary  contest.  Mr. 
Parnell  has  few  qualities  which  have  hitherto 
been  associated  with  the  idea  of  a  successful  Irish 
leader.  He  has  now  become  one  of  the  most 
potent  of  parliamentary  debaters  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  through  his  thorough  grasp  of  his 
own  ideas  and  through  his  exact  knowledge  of 
the  needs  of  his  country.  But  Mr.  Parnell  has  be- 
come this  in  spite  of  himself.  He  retains  to  this 
day,  as  we  have  before  stated,  an  almost  invin- 
cible repugnance  to  public  speaking ;  if  he  can, 
through  any  excuse,  be  silent,  he  remains  silent, 
and  the  want  of  all  training  before  his  entrance 
into  political  life  made  him,  at  first,  a  speaker 
more  than  usually  stumbling.  His  complete  suc- 
cess in  overcoming,  not  indeed  his  natural  ob- 
jection to  public  speaking,  but  the  difficulty  with 
which  his  first  speeches  were  marked,  affords  one 
of  the  many  proofs  of  his  wonderful  strength  and 
singleness  of  purpose.  It  is  not  a  little  re- 
markable that  his  first  successful  speech  was  crit- 
icised for  its  vehemence  and  bitterness  of  tone, 
and  for  the  shrillness  and  excessive  effort  of  the 
speaker's  voice.  It  seems  probable  that  the 
embarrassing  circumstances  of  his  position  while 
addressing  an  unsympathizing  body  of  legislators, 
combined  with  a  sense  of  his  own  inexperience, 
may  have  produced  the  appearance  of  excessive 
vehemence  of  manner. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  95 

Nature  has  stamped  on  the  person  of  this  re- 
markable man  the  qualities  of  his  mind  and  tem- 
perament. His  face  is  singularly  handsome,  and 
at  a  first  glance  might  even  appear  too  delicate 
to  be  strong.  The  nose  is  long  and  thin  and 
carved,  not  moulded;  the  mouth  is  well  cut;  the 
cheeks  are  pallid;  the  forehead  perfectly  round, 
as  round  and  as  striking  as  the  forehead  of  the 
first  Napoleon  ;  and  the  eyes  are  dark  and  un- 
fathomable. The  passer-by  in  the  streets,  taking 
a  casual  look  at  those  beautifully  chiselled 
features  and  at  the  air  of  perfect  tranquillity, 
would  be  inclined  to  think  that  Mr.  Parnell  was  a 
very  handsome  young  man,  who  probably  had 
graduated  at  West  Point,  and  would  in  due  time 
die  in  a  skirmish  with  the  Indians.  But  a  closer 
look  would  show  the  great  possibilities  beneath 
this  face.  The  mouth,  especially  the  under  lip, 
speaks  of  a  grip  that  never  loosens;  the  eye, 
when  it  is  fixed,  tells  of  the  inflexible  will  be- 
neath;  and  the  tranquillity  of  the  expression  is 
the  tranquillity  of  tiie  nature  that  wills  and  wins. 
Similarly  with  his  figure.  It  looks  slight  almost 
to  frailty ;  but  a  glance  will  show  that  the  bones 
are  large,  the  hips  broad,  and  the  walk  firm;  in 
fact,  Mr.  Parnqll  tramps  the  ground  rather  than 
walks.  The  hands  are  firrn,  and  even  the  way 
they  grasp  a  pencil  has  a  significance. 

This  picture  of  Parnell  is  very  unlike  the  por- 
traits which  have  been   formed  of  him   by  the 


p5  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

imagination  of  those  who  have  never  met  him. 
When  he  was  first  in  the  storm  and  stress  of  the 
era  of  obstruction,  he  used  to  be  portrayed  in  the 
truthful  pages  of  English  comic  journalism  with  a 
battered  hat,  a  long  upper  lip,  a  shillelah  in  his 
hand,  a  clay  pipe  in  his  caubeen.  Even  to  this 
day  portraits  after  this  fashion  appear  in  the 
lower-class  journals  that  think  the  caricature  of 
the  Irish  face  the  best  of  all  possible  jokes.  Par^- 
nell  is  passionately  fond  of  Ireland ;  is  happier 
and  healthier  on  its  soil  than  in  any  other  part  of 
the  world,  and  is  almost  bigoted  in  the  intensity 
of  his  patriotism.  But  he  might  easily  be  taken 
for  a  native  of  another  country.  Residence  for 
the  first  years  of  his  life  in  English  schools  has 
given  him  a  strong  English  accent  and  an  essen- 
tially English  manner;  and  from  his  American 
mother  he  has  got,  in  all  probability,  the  healthy 
pallor,  the  delicate  chiselling,  the  impassive  look, 
and  the  resolute  eye  that  are  typical  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  great  Republic. 

Such  is  the  man  in  brief  who  to-day  is  perhaps 
the  most  potent  personality  in  all  the  many  na- 
tions and  many  races  of  the  earth.  The  Russian 
Czar  rules  wider  domains  and  more  subjects ;  but 
his  sway  has  to  be  backed  by  more  than  a  million 
armed  men,  and  he  passes  much  of  his  time  shiv- 
ering before  the  prospect  of  a  sudden  and  awful 
death  at  the  hands  of  the  infuriated  among  his 
own  people.    The  German  is  a  more  multitude- 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  97 

nous  race  than  the  Irish  and  almost  as  widely 
scattered ;  but  Bismarck  requires  also  the  protec- 
tion of  a  mighty  army  and  of  cruel  coercion  laws, 
and  the  German  who  leaves  the  Fatherland  re- 
gards with  abhorrence  the  political  ideas  with 
which  Bismarck  is  proud  to  associate  his  name. 
Gladstone  exercises  an  almost  unparalleled  sway 
over  the  minds,  hearts,  imaginations  of  English- 
men; but  nearly  one-half  of  his  people  regard 
him  as  the  incarnation  of  all  evil ;  and  shallow- 
pated  lieutenants,  great  only  in  self-conceit,  dare 
to  beard  and  defy  and  flout  him.  But  Parnell  has 
not  one  solitary  soldier  at  his  command  ;  the  jail 
has  opened  for  him  and  not  for  his  enemies,  and 
except  for  a  miserable  minority  he  is  adored  by 
all  the  Irish  at  home,  and  adored  even  more  fer- 
vently by  the  Irish  who  will  never  see — in  some 
cases  who  have  never  seen — the  shores  of  the 
Green  Isle  again.  In  one  way  or  another, 
through  intermixture  with  the  blood  of  other 
peoples,  the  Irish  race  can  lay  claim  to  some 
twenty  millions  of  the  human  race.  Out  of  all 
these  twenty  millions  the  people  who  do  not  re- 
gard Parnell  as  their  leader  may  be  counted  by 
the  few  hundreds  of  thousands.  In  cities  sepa- 
rated from  his  home  or  place  of  nativity  by  oceans 
and  continents,  men  meet  at  his  command,  and 
spill  their  money  for  the  cause  he  recommends. 
Meetings  called  under  his  auspices  gather  daily 
in  every  one  of  the  vast  States  of  America,-  in 


q8  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Canada,  in  Cape  Colony;  and  the  primeval  woods 
of  Australia  have  echoed  to  the  cheers  for  his 
name.  But  this  is  but  a  superficial  view  of  his 
power.  A  nation,  under  his  guidance,  has  shed 
many  of  its  traditional  weaknesses;  from  being  im- 
pulsive has  grown  cool  and  calculating ;  from  being 
disunited  and  discordant  has  welded  itself  into 
iron  bands  of  discipline  and  solidarity.  ^  In  a  race 
scattered  over  every  variety  of  clime  and  soil  and 
government,  and  in  every  stratum  of  the  social 
scale  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest,  there  are 
men  of  every  variety  of  character  and  occupation 
and  opinion.  In  other  times  the  hatred  of  these 
men  over  their  differences  of  method  was  more 
bitter  than  their  hatred  for  the  common  enemy 
who  loathed  alike  their  ends  and  their  means. 
Now  they  all  alike  sink  into  equality  of  agree- 
ment before  the  potent  name  of  Parnell,  high  and 
low,  timid  and  daring,  moderate  and  extreme. 
Republics  change  their  Presidents,  colonies  their 
governors  and  ministers;  in  England  now  it  is 
Gladstone  and  now  it  is  Salisbury  that  rules;  but 
Parnell  remains  stable  and  immovable,  the  apex 
of  a  pyramid  that  stretches  invisible  over  many 
lands  and  seas,  as  resistless  apparently  as  fate, 
solid  as  granite,  durable  as  time. 

It  was  many  years  before  the  world  had  any 
idea  of  this  new  and  potent  force  that  was  coming 
into  its  councils  and  affairs.  Charles  Stewart 
Parnell  was  born  in  June,  1846.     He  is  descended 


THE  LATE  MR.    HENRY  GR^iiAiN,  m.  F. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  loi 

from  a  family  that  had  long  been  associated  with 
the  political  life  of  Ireland.  The  family  came 
originally  from  Congleton,  in  Cheshire;  but  like 
so  many  others  of  English  origin  had  in  time 
proved  its  right  to  the  proud  boast  of  being 
Hibe7'nior  Hibernis  ipsis.  So  far  back  as  the 
beginning  of  the  last  century  a  Parnell  sat  for  an 
Irish  constituency  in  the  Irish  Parliament.  At  the 
time  of  the  Union  a  Parnell  held  high  office,  and 
was  one  of  those  who  gave  the  most  substantial 
proof  of  the  reality  of  his  love  for  the  independ- 
ence of  his  country.  Sir  John  Parnell  _at  the 
time  was  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  and  had 
held  the  office  for  no  less  than  seventeen  years. 
It  was  one  of  the  vices  of  the  old  Irish  Parliament 
even  in  the  days  after  Grattan  had  attained  com- 
parative freedom  in  1782  that  the  Ministers  were 
creatures  of  the  Crown  and  not  responsible  to  and 
removable  by  the  Parliament  of  which  they  were 
members.  There  was  everything,  then,  in  these 
years  of  service  as  a  representative  of  the  Crown 
to  have  transformed  Sir  John  Parnell  into  a  time- 
serving and  corrupt  courtier.  But  Sir  John  Barr- 
ingtori,  the  best  known  chronicler  of  the  days  of 
the  Irish  Union,  describes  Sir  John  Parnell  in  his 
list  of  contemporary  Irishmen  as  "  Incorruptible;'- 
and ^* Incorruptible "  he  proved;  for  he  resigned 
office  and  resisted  the  Act  of  Union  to  the  bitter 
end.  A  son  of  Sir  John  Parneli— Henry  Parn.ell 
—was  afterwards  for  many  years  a  prominent 


102  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

member  of  the  British  Parliament,  became  a  Cab- 
inet Minister,  and  was  ultimately  raised  to  the 
Peerage  as  the  first  Baron  Congleton.  John 
Henry  Parnell  was  a  grandson  of  Sir  John  Parnell. 
In  his  younger  days  he  went  on  a  tour  through 
America ;  there  met  Miss  Stewart,  the  daughter 
of  Commodore  Stewart,  fell  in  love  with  her,  and 
was  married  in  Broadway.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
speak  to  Americans  of  the  immortal  "Old  Iron- 
sides." Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  bravery,  calm- 
ness, and  strength  of  will  which  were  characteris- 
tic of  the  brave  commander  of  the  "  Constitution  " 
are  inherited  by  his  grandson,  the  bearer  of  his 
name;  for  the  full  name  of  Mr.  Parnell,  as  is 
known,  is  **  Charles  Stewart  Parnell."  There  was 
also  something  significant  in  the  fact  that  the  man 
who  was  destined  to  prove  the  most  potent  foe 
of  British  misrule  in  Ireland  should  have  drawn 
his  blood  on  the  mother's  side  from  a  captain  who 
was  one  of  the  few  men  that  ever  brought  humili- 
ation on  the  proud  mistress  of  the  seas. 

The  young  Parnell,  chiefly  because  he  was  a 
delicate  child,  was  sent  to  various  schools  in 
England  during  his  boyhood,  and  finally  went  to 
Cambridge  University — the  university  of  his 
father.  Here  he  stayed  for  a  couple  of  years,  and 
for  a  considerable  time  thought  of  becoming  a 
lawyer.  But  he  changed  his  purpose,  with  a 
regret  that  sometimes  even  in  these  days  of 
supreme  political  glory  finds  wistful  expression. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  103 

Almost  immediately  after  his  years  at  Cam- 
bridge he  went  abroad  for  a  tour;  and  like  his 
father  he  chose  America  as  the  first  place  to  visit. 
While  travelling  through  Georgia — where  his 
brother  has  now  a  great  peach-orchard — he  met 
with  a  railway  accident.  He  escaped  unhurt; 
but  John,  his  elder  brother,  was  injured;  and 
John  says  to  this  day  that  he  never  had  so  good 
a  nurse  as  "  Charley."  Then  Mr.  Parnell  came 
back  to  his  home  in  Avondale,  County  Wicklow, 
and  gave  himself  up  to  the  occupations  and 
amusements  of  a  country  gentleman.  At  this  time 
he  was  known  as  a  reticent  and  rather  retiring 
young  man.  He  must  have  had  his  opinions 
though;  for  he  was  brought  up  in  a  strongly 
political  environment.  Probably  owing  to  her 
father's  blood  Mrs.  Parnell  had  always  a  lively 
sympathy  with  the  rebels  against  British  oppres- 
sion in  Ireland.  She  had  a  house  in  Dublin  at 
the  time  when  the  ranks  of  Fenianism  had  been 
descended  upon  by  the  government ;  and  when 
in  Green  Street  Court-house,  with  the  aid  of  in- 
formers, packed  juries,  and  partisan  judges,  the 
desperate  soldiers  of  Ireland's  cause  were  being 
consigned  in  quick  and  regular  succession  to  the 
living  death  of  penal  servitude.  There  were  in 
various  parts  of  the  city  fugitives  from  what  was 
called  in  these  days  justice ;  and  among  the  places 
where  most  of  these  fugitives  found  a  temporary 
asylum  and  ultimately  a  safe  flight  to  freer  lands 


104  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

and  till  better  days  was  the  house  of  Mrs.  ParnelL 
Fanny  Parnell  is  also  one  of  the  family  figures 
that  played  a  large  part  in  the  creation  of  the 
opinions  of  her  brother.  At  an  early  age  she 
showed  her  poetic  talents ;  and  from  the  first 
these  talents  were  devoted  to  the  description  ^f 
the  sufferings  of  Ireland  and  to  appeals  to  her 
sons  to  rise  against  Ireland's  wrongs.  When  the 
Fenian  movement  was  in  its  full  strength  it  had 
an  organ  in  Dublin  called  The  Irish  People ;  and 
into  the  office  of  The  Irish  People  Fanny  Parnell 
stole  often  with  a  patriotic  poem. 

In  the  midst  of  these  surroundings  came  the 
news  of  the  execution  of  the  Manchester  Martyrs. 
The  effect  of  that  event  upon  the  people  of  Ire- 
land was  extraordinary.  The  three  men  hanged 
had  taken  part  in  the  rescue  of  two  prominent 
Fenian  soldiers.  In  the  scrimmage  a  policeman, 
Sergeant  Brett,  had  been  accidentally  killed,  and 
for  this  accidental  death  several  men  were  put  on 
their  trial  for  murder.  The  trial  took  place  in 
one  of  the  periodical  outbursts  of  fury  which  un- 
happily used  to  take  place  between  England  and 
Ireland.  The  juries  were  prejudiced,  the  judges 
not  too  calm,  and  the  evidence  far  from  trust- 
worthy. Three  men — Allen,  Larkin,  and  O'Brien 
— were  sentenced  to  death.  Though  many  hu- 
mane Englishmen  pleaded  for  mercy,  the  law  was 
allowed  to  take  its  course,  and  Allen,  Larkin,  and 
O'Brien  were  executed.    A  wild  cry  of  hate  and 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  105 

sorrow  rose  from  Ireland.  In  every  town  multi* 
tudes  of  men  walked  in  funeral  procession,  and  to 
this  day  the  poem  of  "  God  Save  Ireland,"  which 
commemorates  the  memory  of  Allen,  Larkin,  and 
O'Brien,  is  the  most  popular  of  Irish  songs. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

AN    INTERESTING    ANECDOTE. 

To  anybody  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  Mr. 
Parnell  it  will  be  easy  to  understand  the  effect 
which  such  a  tragedy  would  have  upon  his  mind/ 
If  there  be  one  quality  more  developed  than  an- 
other in  his  nature  it  is  a  hatred  of  cruelty. 
When  he  was  a  magistrate  he  had  brought  before 
him  a  man  charged  with  cruelty  to  a  donkey. 
Fanny  Parnell  was  the  person  who  had  the  man 
rendered  up  to  justice,  and  her  brother  strongly 
sympathized  with  her  efforts.  The  man  was  con- 
victed, and  was  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  thirty 
shillings.  The  miscreant  might  as  well  have  been 
asked  to  pay  the  national  debt,  and  the  fine  was  a 
sentence  of  prolonged  imprisonment.  *  The  sequel 
of  the  story  is  characteristic  of^he  family.  Miss 
Parnell  herself  paid  the  fine  and  released  the  ruf- 
fian. It  was  his  strong  sympathy  with  suffering 
and  his  hatred  of  cruelty  that  first  impelled  Mr. 
Parnell  to  lead  the  crusade  against  the  use  of  the 
odious  lash  in  the  British  army  and  navy.  So 
deep,  indeed,  is  his  abhorrence  of  cruelty  and 
even  of  bloodshed,  that  he  is  strongly  opposed  to 
capital  punishment;  and  once,  when  one  of  his 
colleagues  voted  against  a  motion  condemnatory 

of  capital  punishment  in  the  House  of  Commons,  he 
1 06 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  jq; 

expressed  the  hope,  half  jokp,  whole  earnest,  that 
some  day  that  colleague  might  be  taught  a  lesson 
by  being  himself  hanged  as  a  rebel.  The  Man- 
chester tragedy  then  touched  Parnell  in  his  most 
tender  point,  and  from  that  time  forward  he  was 
an  enemy  of  English  domination  in  Ireland! 

But  he  seemed  to  be  in  no  hurry  to  put  his 
convictions  into  action.  He  is  not  a  man  of  ex- 
uberant enjoyment  of  life.  He  has  too  litde 
imagination  and  too  much  equability  for  ecstasies, 
but  he  enjoys  the  hour,  has  many  and  varied  in- 
terests in  life,  and  could  never,  by  any  possibility, 
sink  to  a  slothful  or  a  melancholy  dreamer.  His 
proud  and  self-respecting  nature,  too,  saved  him 
from  any  tendency  towards  that  wretched  and 
squalid  viciousness  which  is  the  characteristic  of 
so  many  landlords'  lives  in  Ireland.  He  is  essen- 
tially temperate;  eats  but  plainly,  and  drinks 
nothing  but  a  small  quantity  of  claret.  Nor  could 
he  descend  to  the  pure  horsiness  which  makes  so 
many  country  genriemen  regard  the  stableman's 
as  the  highest  of  arts  and  pursuits. 

One  of  the  reasons  why  Mr.  Parnell  delayed 
his  entrance  into  public  life  was  the  state  of  Irish 
politics  at  that  moment.  There  was  little  move- 
ment in  the  country  of  a  constitutional  character. 
The  representation  was  in  the  hands  of  knavish 
office-holders  or  office-seekers.  The  professions 
of  political  faith  were  so  many  lies,  and  the  con- 
stituencies distrustful  of  all  chance  of  relief  from 


I08  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

the  Legislature,  allowed  themselves  to  be  bought, 
that  they  might  afterwards  be  sold.  All  that  was 
earnest  and  energetic  and  honest  in  Ireland 
sought  rehef  for  her  misery  in  desperate  enter- 
prises, or  stood  aside  until  better  days  and  more 
auspicious  stars.  Then  the  landlords  of  the  coun- 
try remained  entirely,  or  almost  entirely,  aloof 
from  the  popular  movements.  With  the  single 
exception  of  the  late  Mr.  George  Henry  Moore, 
the  representation  of  Ireland  was  abandoned  by 
the  country  gentlemen,  who  in  other  times  had 
occasionally  rushed  out  of  their  own  ranks  and 
taken,  up  the  side  of  the  people.  It  is  a  curious 
fact,  but  the  man  who,  perhaps,  had  more  influ- 
ence than  almost  any  other  in  bringing  Mr.  Paf- 
nell  into  the  arena  of  Irish  nationality,  has  himself 
proved  a  recreant  to  the  cause. 

In  1 87 1  was  fought  the  Kerry  election.  This 
election  marked  one  of  the  turning-points  in  the 
modern  history  of  Ireland.  During  the  Fenian 
trials  Isaac  Butt  was  the  most  prominent  figure  in 
defending  the  prisoners.  He  was  a  man  who  had 
started  life  with  great  expectations  and  supreme 
talents.  Before  he  was  many  years  in  Trinity 
College,  Ireland's  oldest  university,  he  was  a  pro- 
fessor; he  had  been  only  six  years  at  the  bar 
when  he  was  made  a  Queen's  counsel.  He  was 
the  son  of  a  Protestant  rector  of  the  North  of  Ire- 
land, and  adhered  for  some  years  to  the  prejudices 
in  which  he  had  been  reared.     In  his  early  days 


tt 

1 

^^ 

9 

^fl 

^^^^ 

\S1™» 

mM 

MR 

^5'  '  ^m 

1 

M 

^ 

-^Uy 

1 

\^^ 

m 

w 

^^ 

no  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

every  good  thing  in  Ireland  belonged  to  the 
Protestants.  The  Catholics  were  an  outlawed 
and  alien  race  in  their  own  country.  O'Connell, 
not  many  years  before,  had  carried  Catholic 
emancipation,  but  Catholic  emancipation  was  alive 
only  in  the  letter.  The  offices — the  judgeships, 
the  fellowships  in  Trinity  College,  the  shrievalties, 
everything  of  value  or  power — were  still  exclusive- 
ly in  the  hands  of  the  Protestants.  O'Connell,  in 
1843,  was  so  thoroughly  sick  and  tired  of  vain  ap- 
peals to  the  English  Legislature  that  he  resolved 
to  start  once  again  a  demand  for  a  native  Irish 
Legislature.  He  opened  the  agitation  by  a  de- 
bate in  the  Dublin  Corporation,  and  Butt,  who  was 
a  member  of  that  body,  though  he  was  but  a. 
young  man,  was  chosen  by  the  Conservatives  to 
oppose  O'Connell,  and  delivered  a  speech  so 
effective  that  O'Connell  himself  complimented  his 
youthful  opponent,  and  foretold  the  advent  of  a 
time  when  Butt  himself  would  be  among  the  ad- 
vocates instead  of  the  opponents  of  an  Irish  Leg- 
islature. It  was  not  till  a  quarter  of  a  century 
afterward  that  this  prophecy  was  realized.  Butt, 
immediately  after  the  Fenian  trials,'  began  an 
agitation  for  amnesty,  and  in  this  way  gradually 
went  forward  to  a  primary  place  in  the  confidence 
and  in  the  affections  of  his  countrymen.  There 
were  still  some  people  who  believed  in  the  power 
and  the  willingness  of  the  English  Parliament  to 
redress  all  the  wrongs  of  Ireland,  and  there  was 


112  CHARLES  STEWART   PARNELL. 

some  j'jstification  for  this  faith  in  the  fact  that 
William  Ewart  Gladstone  was  then  at  the  head  of 
the  English  state,  and  was  passing  the  Disestab- 
lishment of  the  Irish  Church,  the  Land  Act  of 
1870,  and  the  Ballot  Act,  three  measures  which 
mark  the  renaissance  of  Irish  nationality.  But 
one  of  these  very  measures  Isaac  Butt  was  able 
to  show  was  the  very  strongest  proof  of  the  neces- 
sity for  an  Irish  Legislature.  The  Land  Act  of 
1870  is  an  act  the  defects  of  which  have  passed 
from  the  region  of  controversy.  Mr.  Gladstone 
himself  offered  the  strongest  proof  of  its  break- 
down by  proposing  in  1881  an  entirely  different 
Land  Act.  In  fact  it  would  not  be  impossible  to 
show  that  in  some  respects  the  Land  Act  of  1870 
aggravated  instead  of  mitigated  the  evils  of  Irish 
land  tenure.  It  put  no  restraint  on  the  raising  of 
rents,  and  rents  were  raised  more  mercilessly  than 
ever;  it  impeded,  but  it  did,  not  arrest  eviction  ;  it 
caused  as  much  emigration  from  Ireland  as  ever. 
Yet  all  Ireland  had  unanimously  demanded  a  dif- 
ferent bill.  Mass-meetings  all  over  the  country 
had  demonstrated  the  wish  of  the  people,  and  ex- 
pectation had  been  wrought  to  a  high  point.  The 
fruit  of  it  all  had  been  the  halting  and  miserable 
measure  of  1870. 

It  was  this  fact  that  gave  the  farmers  into  the 
hands  of  Butt.  The  population  of  the  towns  was 
always  ready  to  receive  and  to  support  any  Na- 
tional leader  who  advocated  an  Irish  Parliament  i 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  113 

Indeed  there  is  scarcely  a  year  since  the  Act  of 
Union  in  1800  when  the  overwhelming  majority 
of  the  Irish  people  were  not  in  favor  of  the  resto- 
ration of  an  Irish  Parliament.  At  that  moment, 
too,  another  force  was  working  in  favor  of  a  re- 
newed agitation  for  Home  Rule.  The  Protestants 
were  bitterly  exasperated  by  the  Disestablishment 
of  the  Irish  Church.  Some  of  the  more  extreme 
Orangemen  had  made  the  same  threats  then  as 
they  are  making  now,  and,  while  professing  the 
strongest  loyalty  to  the  Queen,  had  used  lan- 
guage of  vehement  disloyalty.  For  instance,  one 
Orange  clergyman  had  declared  that  if  the  Queen 
should  consent  to  the  Disestablishment,  the 
Orangemen  would  throw  her  crown  into  the 
Boyne.  To  the  Irish  Protestants  Butt  could  ap- 
peal with  more  force  than  any  other  man.  He 
was  an-  Irish  Protestant  himself,  brought  up  in 
their  religious  creed  and  in  their  political  preju- 
dices. He  made  the  appeal  with  success,  and  it 
was  Irish  Protestants  that  took  the  largest  share 
in  starting  the  great  Irish  movement  of  to-day. 
The  Home  Rule  movement  received  definite  form 
for  the  first  time  at  a  meeting  in  the  Bilton  Hotel 
on  May  19,  1870.  It  was  held  in  the  Bilton 
Hotel  in  Sackville  (now  O'Connell)  street,  and 
among  those  who  were  present  and  took  a  promi- 
nent part  were  Isaac  Butt,  a  Protestant ;  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Galbraith,  a  Protestant  clergyman  and  a 
Fellow  of  Trinity  College ;  Mr.  Purdon,  a  Prot- 


114  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

estant,  and  then  Conservative  Lord  Mayor  of 
Dublin ;  Mr.  KInahan,  a  Protestant,  who  had  been 
High  Sheriff  of  Dublin ;  Major  Knox,  a  Protes- 
tant, and  the  proprietor  of  the  IHsh  Times,  the 
chief  Conservative  organ  of  Dublin,  and  finally 
Colonel  King  Harman,  a  Protestant,  who  has 
since  gone  over  to  the  enemy  a-nd  become  one  of 
the  bitterest  opponents  of  the  movement  which  he 
was  largely  responsible  in  starting. 

It  was  a  Protestant,  too,  that  won  a  victory  that 
was  decisive.  In  1871  there  was  a  vacancy  in  the 
representation  of  the  County  of  Kerry.  At  once 
the  new  movement  resolved  to  make  an  appeal 
to  the  constituency  in  the  name  of  the  revived  de- 
mand for  the  restoration  of  an  Irish  Parliament. 
The  friends  of  Whiggery,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  just  as  resolved  that  the  old  bad  system 
should  be  defended  vigorously.  And  this  elec- 
tion at  Kerry  deserves  to  be  gravely  dwelt  on  by 
those  who  regard  the  present  movement  as  a  sec- 
tarian and  a  distinctly  Catholic  movement.  The 
Whig  candidate  was  a  Catholic — Mr.  James  Ar- 
thur Dease,  a  man  of  property,  of  great  intellect- 
ual powers,  and  of  a  stainless  character  ;  and  Mr. 
Dease  was  supported  vehemently  and  passion- 
ately by  Dr.  Moriarty,  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  of  Kerry.  The  Home  Rule  candidate  on 
the  other  hand  was  a  Protestant — Mr.  Rowland 
Ponsonby  Blennerhassett ;  and  he  had  but  few  ad* 
herents  among  the  Catholic  clergy  of  the  diocese; 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  115 

and  the  clergy  who  did  support  him  fell  under 
the  displeasure  of  their  bishop.  The  struggle 
was  fought  out  with  terrible  energy  and  much 
bitterness ;  the  end  was  that  the  feeling  of  Na- 
tionality triumphed  over  all  the  influence  of  the 
British  authorities  and  of  the  Catholic  bishop,  and 
Blennerhassett,  the  Protestant  Home  Rule  candi- 
date, was  returned. 

Blennerhassett  belonged  to  the  same  class  as 
Mr.  Parnell.  He  was  a  landlord,  a  Protestant,  and 
a  Home  Ruler.  Mr.  Parnell  was  a  landlord,  a 
Protestant,  and  a  Home  Ruler.  The  time  had  ap- 
parently come  when  constitutional  agitation  had  a 
fair  chance  ;  and  when  men  of  property  who  sym- 
pathized with  the  people  would  be  welcomed  into 
the  National  ranks.  A  few  years  after  this  came 
the  general  election  of  1874;  and  Mr.  Parnell 
tliought  that  his  time  of  self-distrust  and  hesita- 
'tion  had  passed ;  and  that  he  might  put  himself 
forward  as  a  National  candidate.  But  his  chance 
was  destroyed  by  a  small  technicality  of  which 
the  government  took  advantage.  It  is  the  cus- 
tom in  Ireland  to  appoint  young  men  of  station 
and  property  to  the  position  of  high  sheriffs  of 
the  counties  in  which  they  live.  The  high  sheriff 
cannot  stand  for  the  constituency  in  which  he 
holds  office  unless  he  be  permitted  by  the  Crown 
to  resign  his  office.  Mr.  Parnell  applied  for  this 
permission  and  was  refused.  And  thus  in  all 
probability  he  was  unable  to  represent  his  native 


Il6  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

county  in  Parliament.  But  he  had  not  long  to 
wait.  When  a  member  of  Parliament  accepts 
office  he  has  to  resign  his  seat  in  the  British 
Parliament  and  submit  himself  once  more  to  the 
votes  of  his  constituency.  A  Colonel  Taylor,  a 
veteran  and  rather  stupid  hack  of  the  Tory  party, 
was  promoted  by  Mr.  Disraeli  to  the  position  of 
Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster — a  well- 
paid  sinecure — after  many  years'  service  as  one 
of  the  whips  of  the  party.  Colonel  Taylor  was 
member  for  County  Dublin.  He  had  to  seek 
re-election  on  his  appointment  to  the  chancellor- 
ship ;  and  Mr.  Parnell  resolved  to  oppose  him. 

Mr.  Parnell  was  beaten,  of  course,  by  a  huge 
majority ;  for  in  those  days,  though  the  majority 
of  the  people  of  County  Dublin  were,  as  they  are 
now,  energetic  Nationalists,  the  franchise  suffrag^e 
was  so  restricted  that  a  small  minority  was  able 
to  always  win  the  seat.  But  Mr.  Parnell  had 
borne  himself  well  in  the  struggle ;  and  though  he 
was  held  to  be  absolutely  devoid  of  speaking 
power,  yet  he  made  many  friends  and  admirers 
by  the  pluck  with  which  he  fought  a  forlorn 
hope.  The  next  year  the  man  who  had  been 
chiefly  instrumental  in  bringing  him  into  public 
life  died— honest  John  Martin.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  John  Martin  was  member  for  County 
Meath.  The  county,  always  strongly  National, 
looked  for  a  man  capable  of  stepping  into  the  place 
of  a  noble  patriot.     Parnell  was  selected. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  n; 

Parnell  was  now  at  last  embarked  on  the  career 
of  an  Irish  politician.  He  had  not  been  long  in 
the  House  when  he  discovered  that  things  were 
not  as  they  should  be,  and  that  the  movement, 
though  it  appeared  powerful  to  the  outside  pub- 
lic, was  internally  weak  and  to  some  extent  even 
rotten.  Butt,  the  leader  of  the  Irish  party,  was  a 
man  of  great  intellectual  powers,  and  was  hon- 
estly devoted  to  the  success  of  the  cause.  He 
was  ready  also  to  work  very  hard  himself,  and  he 
drafted  all  the  bills  that  were  brought  in  on  va- 
rious subjects  by  his  followers.  But  he  was  old, 
had  lived  an  exhausting  life,  was  steeped  in  debt, 
ani  had  to  divide  his  time  and  energies  between 
the  calls  of  his  profession  as  a  lawyer  and  his 
duties  as  a  legislator.  Such  double  calls  are 
especially  harassing  in  the  case  of  a  man  who  is  at 
once  an  Irish  lawyer  and  an  Irish  politician.  The 
law  courts  are  in  Dublin,  the  imperial  Parliament 
is  in  London;  the  journey  between  the  two  cities, 
part  by  sea  and  part  by  land,  is  fatiguing  even  to 
a  young  man,  and  thus  it  was  quite  impossible  that 
Butt  could  attend  to  his  duties  as  a  lawyer  in 
Dublin  and  as  a  politician  in  London  without 
damage  to  both.  This  seriously  interfered  with 
his  efficiency,  and  was  partly  accountable  for  the 
break-down  of  himself  and  his  party. 

But  he  had,  besides,  personal  defects  that  made 
him  unfit  for  difficult  and  stormy  times.  He  was 
a  soft-tempered,  easy-going  man  who  was  without 


Il8  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

much  mpral  courage,  incapable  of  saying  No,  and 
with  a  thousand  amiable  weaknesses  which  leaned 
to  virtue's  side  as  a  man,  but  were  far  from  vir- 
tuous in  the  politician.  As  a  speaker  he  was  the 
most  persuasive  of  men.  He  discussed  with  such 
candor,  with  such  logic,  with  temper  so  beautiful, 
that  even  his  bitterest  opponents  had  to  listen  to 
him  with  respect.  But  the  House  of  Commons 
has  respect  only  for  men  who  have  votes  behind 
them,  and  can  turn  divisions,  and  Butt  was  unable 
to  turn  divisions. 

This  brings  us  to  the  second  defect  in  the  Home 
Rule  party  of  Butt.  Most  of  his  followers  were 
rotten  office-seekers.  When  in  1874, Butt  had  an 
opportunity  of  getting  a  party  elected  he  was 
beset  by  the  great  weakness  of  all  Irish  move- 
ments— the  want  of  money.  The  electoral  insti- 
tutions of  England  were,  and  to  a  certain  extent 
still  are,  such  as  to  make  political  careers  impossi- 
ble to  any  but  the  rich  or  the  fairly  rich.  The 
costs  of  election  are  large,  members  of  Parliament 
have  no  salary,  and  living  in  London  is  dear;  and 
thus  as  a  rule  nobody  has  any  chance  of  Entering 
into  political  life  unless  he  has  a  pretty  full  purse. 
The  result  was  that  when  the  contest  came  Butt 
was  in  a  painful  dilemma.  The  constituencies 
were  all  right,  and  were  willing  to  return  an  hon- 
est Nationalist,  but  there  were  no  honest  candi- 
dates, for  there  was  no  prospect  but  starvation  to 
anybody  who  entered  into  political  life  without 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  119 

considerable  means.     Butt  himself  was  terribly 
pressed  for  money  at  that  very  moment.     He  had 
to  fly  from  a  warrant  for  debt  on  the  very  morn- 
ing when  Mr.  Gladstone's  manifesto  was  issued, 
and  John   Barry,  now  one  of  the  members  for 
County  Wexford,  tells  an  amusing  tale  of  how  he 
received  the  then  Irish  leader  in  the  early  morn 
at  Manchester,  where  Barry  lived.     It  was  from 
England  that  Mr.  Butt  had  to  direct  the  electoral 
campaign,  and  his  resources  for  tlie  whole  thing 
amounted  to  a  few  hundred  pounds.     To  Ameri- 
can  readers  these  facts  ought  especially  to  be 
told,  for  they  serve  two  objects:  First,  they  show 
how  it  is  that  though  the  feeling  of  Ireland  has 
alvvays  been  strongly  National,  representatives  of 
these  opinions  have  not  found  a  place  in  Parlia- 
ment until  a  comparatively  recent  period;   and 
secondly,  because  they  bring  out  clearly  the  enor- 
mous influence  which  America  has  exercised  in  the 
later  phases  of  Irish  policy  by  her  generous  sub- 
scriptions to  the  combatants  for  human  rights  and 
human  liberty  in  Ireland. 

The  result  of  all  these  circumstances  was  that 
Butt  was  compelled  to  fight  constituencies  with 
such  men  as  turned  up,  and  in'  the  majority  of 
^  cases  to  be  satisfied  with  the  old  men  under  new 
pledges.  Of  course,  these  old  representative* 
were  quite  as  ready  to  adopt  the  new  princi- 
ples of  Home  Rule  as  they  would  have  adopted 
any  other  principles  that  secured  them  re-<ilection, 


I20  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

and  through  re-election  the  opportunity  of  selling 
themselves  for  office.  Many  of  the  members  of 
the  Home  Rule  party  of  1874  were  men,  accord- 
ingly, who  had  been  twenty  or  thirty  years  engaged 
in  the  ignoble  work  of  seeking  pay  or  pensions 
from  the  British  authorities,  and  as  ready  as  ever 
to  sell  themselves.  Of  course,  such  a  spirit  was 
entirely  destructive  of  any  chance  of  getting  real 
good  from  Parliament.  The  English  ministers 
felt  that  they  were  dealing  with  a  set  of  men 
whose  votes  they  could  buy,  and  were  not  going 
to  take  any  steps  for  the  redress  of  the  grievances 
of  a  country  that  was  thus  represented. 

It  was  no  wonder,  then,  that  when  Mr.  Parnell 
entered  Parliament  he  at  once  began  to  meet  with 
painful  disillusions.  Mr.  Butt's  plan  of  action  was 
to  bring  forward  measures,  to  have  them  skilfully 
and  temperately  discussed,  and  then  to  submit  to 
the  vote  when  it  went  against  him.  The  Home 
Rule  question  was  opened  every  year.  Mr.  Butt 
himself  introduced  the  subject  in  a  speech  of  great 
constitutional  knowledge,  of  intense  closeness  of 
reasoning,  and  of  a  statesmanship  the  sagacity  of 
which  is  now  proved  by  the  adoption  of  Butt's 
views  by  the  leading  statesmen  of  England.  Then 
the  leaders  of  both  the  English  parties  got  up; 
each  in  turn  condemned  the  proposal  with  equal 
emphasis;  the  division  was  called;  Whig  and 
Tory  went  into  the  same  lobby;  the  poor  Irish 
party  was  borne  down  by  hundreds  of  English 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  121 

votes,  and  Home  Rule  was  dead  for  another  year. 
Parnell's  mind  is  eminently  practical.  Great 
speeches,  splendid  meetings,  imposing  proces- 
sions— all  these  things  are  as  nothing  to  him 
unless  they  bring  material  results.  He  was  as 
great  an  admirer  as  anybody  else  of  the  genius 
of  Isaac  Butt,  but  he  could  see  no  good  whatever 
in  great  speeches  and  full-dress  debates  that  left 
the  Irish  question  exactly  where  it  was  before. 
He  saw,  too,  that  Isaac  Butt  was  the  victim  of  one 
great  illusion.  Butt  founded  his  whole  policy  on 
appeals  to  and  faith  in  the  reason  of  the  House 
of  Commons.  Parnell  saw  very  clearly  that  at 
that  period  the  keeper  of  the  conscience  in  the 
House  of  Commons  on  the  Irish  question  was  the 
division  lobby.  "Appeal  to  the  good  sense  and 
good  feeling  of  the  House  of  Commons,"  said 
Butt;  and  the  House  of  Commons  replied  by 
quiedy  but  effectually  telling  him  that  it  didn't 
care  a  pin  about  his  feelings  or  his  opinions— its 
resolution  was  fixed  never  to  grant  Home  Rule 
to  Ireland.  Parnell  naturally  began  to  think  of 
an  opposite  policy.  "Attack  the  House  through 
its  own  interests  and  convenience,"  said  he  to 
Butt,  "and  then  you  need  not  beg, it — you  can 
force  it  to  listen." 

^  In  relating  the  history  of  Mr.  ParnelFs  career, 
it  is  eminendy  proper  for  me  to  introduce  to  the 
reader  some  of  the  distinguished  men  who  stood 
so  nobly  by  that  illustrious  Irishman  in  his  batdes 
for  the  autonomy  of  his  native  land.  Notable 
among  them  was  Joseph  Gillis  Biggar. 


123  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

He  was  bom  in  Belfast,  County  Antrim,  on 
August  I,  1828.  He  was  educated  at  the  Belfast 
Academy,  where  he  remained  from  1832  to  1844. 
The  record  of  his  school-days  is  far  from  satisfac- 
tory. He  was  very  indolent — at  least  hp  says  so 
himself — he  showed  no  great  love  of  reading — 
he  was  poor  at  composition,  and,  of  course,  ab- 
jectly hopeless  at  elocution.  The  one  talent  he 
did  exhibit  was  a  talent  for  figures.  It  was,  per- 
haps, this  want  of  any  particular  success  in  learn- 
ing, as  well  as  delicacy  of  health,  which,  made  Mr. 
Biggar*s  parents  conclude  that  he  had  better  be 
removed  from  school  and  placed  at  business*  He 
was  taken  into  his  father's  office  in  the  provision 
trade,  and  he  continued  as  assistant  until  1861, 
when  he  became  head  of  the  firm. 

Mr.  Biggar  s  first  attempt  to  enter  Parliament 
was  made  at  Londonderry  in  1872.  He  had  not 
the  least  idea  of  being  successful ;  but  he  had  at 
this  time  mentally  formulated  the  policy  which  he 
has  since  carried  out  with  inflexible  purpose — he 
preferred  the  triumph  of  an  open  enemy  to  that 
.of  a  half-hearted  friend.  The  candidates  were 
Mr.  Lewis,  Mr.  (afterwards  Chief  Baron)  Palles, 
and  Mr.  Biggar.  At  that  moment  Mr.  Palles,  as 
Attorney-General,  was  prosecuting  Dr.  Duggan 
and  other  Catholic  bishops  for  the  part  they  had 
taken  in  the  famous  Gal  way  election  of  Colonel 
Nolan — and  Mr.  Biggar  made  it  a  first  and  indis- 
pensable condition  of  his  withdrawing  from  the 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELU  1 25 

contest  that  these  prosecutions  should  be  dropped. 
Mr.  Palles  refused;  Mr.  Biggar  received  only  89 
votes,  but  the  Whig  was  defeated,  and  he  was 
satisfied.  The  bold  fight  he  had  made  marked 
out  Mr.  Biggar  as  the  man  to  lead  one  of  the  as- 
saults which  at  this  time  the  rising  Home  Rule 
party  was  beginning  to  make  on  the  seats  of 
Whig  and  Tory.  He  himself  was  in  favor  of  try- 
ing his  hand  on  some  place  where  the  fighting 
would  be  really  serious,  and  he  had  an  idea  of 
contesting  Monaghan.  When  the  general  elec- 
tion of  1874,  however,  came,  it  was  represented 
to  Mr.  Biggar  that  he  would  better  serve  the 
cause  by  standing  for  Cavan.  He  was  nominated^ 
and  returned,  and  member  for  Cavan  he  has  since 
remained.  Finally,  let  the  record  of  the  purely 
personal  part  of  Mr.  Biggar  s  history  conclude 
With  mention  of  the  fact  that,  In  the  January  of 
1877,  he  was  received  Into  the  Catholic  Church, 
The  change  of  creed  for  a  time  produced  a  slight 
estrangement  between  himself  and  the  other 
members  of  his  family,  who  were  staunch  Ulster 
Presbyterians,  and  there  were  not  wanting  mali- 
cious intruders  who  sought  to  widen  the  breach. 
But  this  unpleasantness  soon  passed  away,  and 
Mr.  Biggar  is  now  on  the  very  best  of  terms  with 
his  relatives. 

Not  long  after  the  night  of  Mr.  BIggar's  cele- 
brated four  hours'  speech,  a  young  Irish  member 
took  his  seat  for  the  first  time.     This  was  Mr. 


124  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Parnell,  elected  for  the  county  of  Meath  in  suc- 
cession to  John  Martin.  The  veteran  and  incor- 
ruptible patriot  had  died  a  few  days  before  the 
opening  of  this  new  chapter  in  Irish  struggle. 
There  was  a  strange  fitness  in  his  end.  John 
Mitchel  had  been  returned  for  the  county  of  Tip- 
perary  in  1875.  After  twenty-six  years  of  exile 
he  had  paid  a  brief  visit  to  his  native  country  in 
the  previous  year.  He  had  triumphed  at  last 
over  an  unjust  sentence,  penal  servitude,  and  the 
weary  waiting  of  all  these  hapless  years^  and  had 
been  selected  as  its  representative  by  the  premier 
constituency  of  Ireland.  But  the  victory  came 
too  late.  When  he  reached  Ireland  to  fight  the 
election  he  was  a  dying  man.  A  couple  of  weeks 
after  his  return  to  his  native  land  he  was  seized 
with  his  last  illness,  and  after  a  few  days  suc- 
cumbed, in  the  home  of  his  early  youth  and  sur- 
rounded by  some  of  his  earliest  friends.  John 
Martin  had  been  brought  by  Mitchel  into  the  na- 
tional faith  when  they  were  both  young  men. 
They  had  been  sentenced  to  transportation  about 
the  same  time  ;  they  had  married  two  sisters  ;  they 
had  both  remained  Inflexibly  attached  to  the  same 
national  faith  throughout  the  long  years  of  dis- 
aster that  followed  the  breakdown  of  their  at- 
tempted revolution.  Martin,  though  very  ill,  and 
in  spite  of  the  most  earnest  remonstrances  of 
friends,  went  over  to  be  present  at  the  death- bed 
of  his  life-long  leader  and  friend. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  jjc 

•  At  the  funeral  he  caught  cold,  sickened,  and  in 
a  few  days  died.  He  was  burled  close  to  Mitchel's 
grave. 

After  Mr.  ParnelPs  first  election  to  Parliament, 
he,  in  common  with  his  associate,  Mr.  Biggar,  was 
deeply  impressed  by  considering  the  impotence 
that  had  fallen  upon  the  Irish  party.  Both  were 
men  ^ager  for  practical  results,  and  debates,  how- 
ever ornate  and  eloquent,  which  resulted  in  no 
benefit,  appeared  to  them  the  sheerest  waste  of 
time,  and  a  mockery  of  their  country's  hopes  and 
demands.  Probably  they  drifted  into  the  policy 
of"  obstruction,"  so  called,  rather  than  pursued  it 
in  accordance  with  a  definite  plan  originally 
thought  out.  There  was  in  the  Irish  party  at  this 
time  a  man  who  had  formulated  the  idea  from 
close  reflection  on  the  methods  of  Parliament. 
This  was  Mr.  Joseph  Ronayne,  who  had  been  an 
enthusiastic  Young  Irelander,  and  though,  amid  the 
disillusions  that  followed  the  breakdown  of  1848, 
he  had  probably  bidden  farewell  forever  to 
armed  insurrection  as  a  method  for  redressing 
Irish  grievances,  he  still  held  by  an  old  and  stern 
gospel  of  Irish  nationality,  and  thought  that  polit- 
ical ends  were  to  be  gained  not  by  soft  words,  but 
by  stern  and  relentless  acts.  He,  if  anybody,  de- 
serves the  credit  qf  h^yipg  poir}|e4  out,  first  to 
Mr.  Biggar  and  then  to  Mr.  Parnell,  the  methods 
of  action  whfch  have  sipce  proved  so  effective  in 
the  cause  of  Ireland. 


126  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

When  one  now  looks  back  upon  the  task- 
which  these  two  men  set  themselves,  it  will 
appear  one  of  the  boldest,  most  difficult,  and 
most  hopeless  that  two  individuals  ever  proposed 
to  themselves  to  work  out. 

They  set  out,  two  of  threm,  to  do  batde  against 
650 ;  they  had  before  them  enemies  who,  in  the 
ferocity  of  a  common  hate  and  a  common  terror, 
forgot  old  quarrels  and  obliterated  old  party  lines ; 
while  among  their  own  party  there  were  false  men 
who  hated  their  honesty  and  many  true  men  who 
doubted  their  sagacity.  In  this  work  of  theirs 
they  had  to  meet  a  perfect  hurricane  of  hate  and 
abuse;  they  had  to  stand  face  to  face  with  the 
practical  omnipotence  of  the  mightiest  of  modern 
empires ;  they  were  accused  of  seeking  to  tram- 
ple on  the  power  of  the  English  House  of  Com- 
mons, and  six  centuries  of  parliamentary  govern- 
ment looked  down  upon  them  in  menace  and  in 
reproach.  In  carrying  their  mighty  enterprise, 
Mr.  Parnell  and  Mr.  Biggar  had  to  undergo 
labors  and  sacrifices  that  only  those  acquainted 
with  the  inside  life  of  Parliament  can  fully  appre- 
ciate. Those  who  undertook  to  conquer  the 
House  of  Commons  had  first  to  conquer  much  of 
the  natural  man  in  themselves.  The  House  of 
Commons  is  the  arena  which  gives  the  choicest 
food  to  the  intellectual  vanity  of  the  British  sub- 
ject, and  the  House  of  Commons  loves  and  re- 
spects only  those  who  love  and  respect  it.     But 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELU  12/ 

the  first  principle  of  the  active  policy  was  that 
there  should  be  absolute  indifference  to  the  opin- 
ion of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  so  vanity  had 
first  to  be  crushed  out.  Then  the  active  policy 
demanded  incessant  attendance  in  the  House,  and 
incessant  attendance  in  the  House  amounts  almost 
to  a  punishment.  And  the  active  poHcy  required, 
in  addition  to  incessant  attendance,  considerable 
preparation;  and  so  the  idleness,  which  is  the 
most  potent  of  all  human  passions,  had  to  be 
gripped  and  strangled  with  a  merciless  hand. 
And  finally,  there  was  to  be  no  shrinking  from 
speech  or  act  because  it  disobliged  one  man  or 
offended  another;  and  therefore,  kindliness'  bf 
feeling  was  to  be  watched  and  guarded  by  re- 
morseless purpose.  The  three  years  of  fierce 
conflict,  of  labor  by  day  and  by  night,  and  of  iron 
resisj:ance  to  menace,  or  entreaty,  or  blandish- 
ment, must  have  left  many  a  deep  mark  in  mind 
and  in  body.  "  Parnell,'*  remarked  one  of  his  fol- 
lowers in  the  House  of  Commons  one  day,  as  the 
Irish  leader  entered  with  pallid  and  worn  face, 
"  Parnell  has  done  mighty  things,  but  he  had  to 
go  through  fire  and  water  to  do  them." 

Mr.  Biggar  was  heard  of  before  Mr.  Parnell 
had  made  himself  known ;  and  to  estimate  his 
character— and  it  is  a  character  worth  study — one 
must  read  carefully,  and  by  the  light  of  the 
present  day-  the  events  of  the  period  at  which  he 
first  started  on  his  enterprise.     In  the  session  of 


130 CHARLES  STEWART  TARNELU 

1875  he  was  constantly  heard  of;  on  April  27  in 
that  session  he  "  espied  strangers ; "  and,  in  ac4 
cordance  with  the  then  existing  rules  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  all  the  occupants  of  the  different 
galleries,  excepting  those  of  the  ladies*  gallery, 
had  to.  retire.  The  Prince  of  Wales  was  among 
the  distinguished  visitors  to  the  assembly  on  this 
particular  evening,  a  fact  which  added  considera- 
ble effect  to  the  proceeding  of  the  member  for 
Cavan.  At  once  a  stornn  burst  upon  him,  be- 
neath which  even  a  very  strong  man  might  have 
bent.  Mr.  Disraeli,  the  Prime  Minister,  got  up, 
amid  cheers  from  all  parts  of  the  House,  tp  de- 
nounce this  outrage  upon  its  dignity ;  and  to  mark 
the  complete  union  of  the  two  parties  against  the 
daring  offender,  Lord  Hartington  rose  imme- 
diately afterwards.  Nor  were  these  the  only 
quarters  from  which  attack  came.  Members  of 
his  own  party  joined  in  the  general  assault  upon 
the  audacious  violator  of  the  tone  of  the  House. 
Mr.  Biggar  was,  above  all  other  things,  held  to  be 
wanting  in  the  instincts  of  a  gentleman.  "1 
think,"  said  the  late  Mr.  George  Bryan,  another 
member  of  Mr.  Butt^s  party,  "that  a  man  should 
be  a  gentleman  first  and  a  patriot  afterwards,"  a 
statement  which  was,  of  course,  received  with 
wild  cheers.  Finally,  the  case  was  summed  up 
by  Mr.  Chaplin.  "The  honorable  member  for 
Cavan,"  said  he,  '•  appears  to  forget  that  he  is  now 
admitted  to  the  society  of  gentlemen.'*     This  was 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  131 

one  of  the  many  allusions,  fashionable  at  the 
time — among  genteel  journalists  especially — to 
Mr.  Biggar's  occupation.  It  was  his  heinous  of- 
fence to  have  made  his  money  In  the  wholesale 
pork  trade.  Caste  among  business  men  and 
their  families  is  regulated,  both  in  England  and 
Ireland,  not  only  by  the  distinction  between 
wholesale  and  retail,  but  by  the  particular  article 
m  which  the  trader  is  interested.  It  was  not, 
therefore,  surprising  that  an  assembly  which  tol- 
erated the  more  aristocratic  cotton  should  turn  up 
its  indignant  nose  at  the  dealer  in  the  humbler 
pork.  But  much  as  the  House  of  Commons  was 
shocked  at  the  nature  of  Mr.  BIggar's  pursuits, 
the  horror  of  the  journalist  was  still  more  ex- 
treme and  outspoken.  **  Heaven  knows"  (said a 
writer  in  the  World),  "  that  I  do  not  scorn  a  man 
because  his  path  in  life  has  led  him  amongst  pro- 
visions. But  though  I  ma*y  unaffectedly  honor  a 
provisk)n  dealer  who  is  a  Member  of  Parliament, 
it  is  with  quite  another  feeling  that  I  behold  a 
Member  of  Parliament  who  is  a  provision  dealer. 
Mr.  Big^ar  brings  the  manner  of  his  store  into 
this  illustrious  assembly,  and  his  manner,  even  for 
a  Belfast  store,  is  very  bad.  When  he  rises  to 
address  the  House,  which  he  did  at  least  ten 
times  to-night,  a  whiff  of  salt  pork  seems  to  float 
upon  the  gale,  and  the  air  is  heavy  with  the  odor 
of  the  kippered  herring.  One  unacquainted  with 
the  actual  condition  of  affairs  might  be  forgiven  if 


132  CilARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

he  thought  there  had  been  a  large  failure  in  the 
bacon  trade,  and  that  the  House  of  Commons  was 
a  meeting  of  creditors,  and  the  right  honorable 
gendemen  sitting  on  the  Treasury  Bench  were 
members  o(  the  defaulting  firm,  who,  having  con- 
fessed their  inability  to  pay  ninepence  in  the 
pound,  were  suitable  and  safe  subjects  for  the 
abuse  of  an  ungenerous  creditor.'* 

These  words  are  here  quoted  by  way  of  illus- 
trating the  symptoms  of  the  times  through  which 
Mr.  Biggar  had  to  live,  rather  than  because  of  any 
influence  they  had  upon  him.  On  this  self-re- 
liant, firm,  and  masculine  nature  a  world  of  ene- 
mies could  make  no  impress.  He  did  not  even 
take  the  trouble  to  read  the  attacks  upon  him. 
The  newspapers  of  the  day  were  full  of  sarcasm 
against  Mr.  Biggar,  the  chief  points  made  against 
him  being  directed  at  his  alleged  "  grotesque  ap- 
pearance" and  *' absurdity."  Indeed,  the  impres- 
sion made  upon  such  Americans  as  have  derived 
their  information  regarding  Irish  affairs  chiefly 
from  the  London  periodicals  has  been  that  Mr. 
Biggar  was  a  man  of  no  sorf  of  intelligence,  and 
of  no  possible  weight  in  Parliamentary  counsels, 
but  that  he  was  simply  a  hornet  who  was  always 
ready  to  sting  John  Bull's  leathern  sides.  That 
this  hornet  was  a  sore  annoyance  it  was  very 
evident.  That  he  was  fearless  and  persistent 
was  equally  plain.  No  man  was  more  ready  to 
assert  Biggar's  lack  of  scholastic  acquirements 


CHARLES  STEWART  TARNELL.  133 

than  he  himself  was  prompt  to  admit  the  fact. 
And  few  were  more  apt,  at  the  same  time,  to 
denounce  those  pretended  patriots  who  were 
only  looking  out  for  the  opportunity  to  don  the 
English  livery. 


CHAPTER  X. 

CORRUPTING    POLITICAL    OPPONENTS. 

And  here,  perhaps,  it  would  be  as  well  to  pause 
for  a  moment  and  explain  to  an  American  reader 
what  are  the  means  which  a  British  government 
has  at  its  disposal  for  corrupting"  political  oppo- 
nents. Few  Americans  realize  the  splendor  of 
the  prizes  that  are  at  the  disposal  of  the  British 
authorities.  Americans,  know  that  members  of 
Parliament  are  paid  no  salary;  they  hear  the 
boasts  of  the  enormous  and  immaculate  purity  of 
public  life  in  England;  and  they,  many  of  them, 
infer  that  political  life  in  England  is  preceded  by 
the  vows  of  purity  and  poverty.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  there  is  no  country  in  the  world  in  which 
politics  has  prizes  so  splendid  to  offer.  The  sala- 
ries reach  proportions  unexampled  in  ancient  or 
modern  times.  The  Lord  Chancellor  of  England, 
for  instance,  has  a  salary  of  fifty  thousand  dollars 
a  year  as  long  as  he  is  in  office,  and  once  he  has 
held  office — if  it  be  only  for  an  hour — he  has  a 
pension  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  a  year  for 
the  remainder  of  his  days.  The  Lord  Chancellor, 
besides,  has  extraordinary  privileges.  He  is  the 
head  of  the  judiciary  of  the  country;  he  is  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Lords  ;  he  is  a  peer  with  right  of 

succession  to  his  children ;  he  is  a  member  of  the 
134 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  135 

cabinet.  The  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons 
has  a  salary  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  a 
year,  a  splendid  house  in  the  Parliament  buildings; 
fire  and  light  and  coal  free ;  and  when  he  retires 
he  gets  a  pension  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  a 
year  for  life  and  a  peerage.  Several  of  the  cab- 
ir^et  ministers  receive  salaries  of  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  a  year.  The  Lord  Chief-Justice 
of  the  Queen's  Bench  gets  a  salary  of  forty 
thousand  dollars'  a  year,  and  the  puisne  judges 
get  a  salary  each  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars 
a  year. 

in  Ireland— one  of  the  poorest  countries  in  the 
world — the  official  salaries  are  on  almost  an  equal 
scale  of  extravagance.  The  Lord-Lieutenant  re- 
ceives a  salary  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
a  year  and  many  allowances.  The  Chief  Secre- 
tary for  Ireland  receives  a  salary  of  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  with  many  allowances. 
The  Lord  Chancellor  has  a  salary  of  forty  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year  during  office,  and,  as  In  the 
case  of  the  Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  has  a 
pension  for  life  even  if  he  have  held  the  office  for 
but  an  hour;  the  p^slon  is  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars a  year.  The  Chief-Justice  of  the  Queen's 
Bench  Court  has  a  salary  of  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  a  year;  and  the  puisne  judges,  who,  as  in 
Englar^d,  hold  their  offices  for  life,  have  a  salary 
of  nineteen  thousand  dollars  a  year.  The  Attor* 
ney-General  in  Ireland  has  a  nominal  salary  of 


136  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

jf  1 2,895,  t^t  1^^  ^^s  f*^^^  besides  for  every  case  in 
which  he  prosecutes ;  and,  as  times  of  disturbance 
bring  many  prosecutions,  he  thrives  on  the  un- 
happiness  of  the  country.  Frequently  the  salary 
of  the  Irish  Attorney-General,  in  times  of  dis- 
quiet, has  run  up  to  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  the 
year,  or  even  more.  Then,  as  everybody  knows, 
England  has  innumerable  colonies,  and  in  all  her 
colonies  there  are  richly  paid  offices.  The  average 
salary  of  a  governor  of  a  colony  is  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars,  and  there  are  chief-justiceships, 
and  puisne  judgeships,  and  lieutenant-governor- 
ships, and  a  thousand  and  one  other  things  which 
can  always  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  an  obe* 
dient  and  useful  friend  of  the  administration. 

The  difficulty  of  the  Irish  struggle  will  be 
understood  when  it  is  recollected  that,  in.  antago- 
nism to  all  this,  the  Irish  people  have  nothing  to 
offer  their  faithful  servants.  In  Ireland  there  are, 
.practically  speaking,  no  offices  in  the  gift  of  the 
people.  From  the  judgeships  down  to  a  place  in 
the  lowest  rank  of  the  police,  everything  is  in  the 
gift^of  the  British  government.  Nor  is  this  all. 
The  Irish  patriot  has,  you  know,  always  ran  the 
risk  of  collision  with  the  authorities,  and,  in  con- 
sequence, faced  the  chances  of  imprisonment. 
Mr.  Parnell  has  been  in  prison;  Mr.  Dillon  has  been 
thrice  in  prison  ;  Mr.  O' Kelly  has  been  in  prison  ; 
Mr.  Sexton  has  been  in  prison ;  Mr.  William 
O'Brien  has  been  in  prison  ;  Mr.  Healy  has  been 


K.  O'DOHERTY. 


138  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

in  prison  ;  Mr.  Timothy  Harrington  has  been 
three  times  in  prison ;  Mr.  Edward  Harrington 
has  been  in  prison ;  Dr.  O'Doherty  was  sent  to 
penal  servitude  in  '48 ;  Mr.  J.  F.  X.  O'Brien  was 
sent  to  penal  servitude  in  1867,  having  first  been 
sentenced  to  be  hanged,  drawn,  and  quartered. 
Out  of  the  eighty-six  Irish  membefs  of  the  present 
Irish  party  no  less  than  twenty-five  have  been, 
on  one  excuse  or  other,  and  for  longer  or  shorter 
ter.ms,  imprisoned  by  the  British  authorities.  The 
choice,  then,  of  the  Irish  politician  lay  between 
wealth,  dignity,  honors,  ease,  which  were  offered 
for  traitorous  service  by  the  British  government, 
and  the  poverty  and  hardship  and  lowliness,  with 
a  fair  prospect  of  the  workhouse  and  the  gaol, 
which  were  the  only  rewards  of  the  faithful  servant 
of  the  Irish  people.  Isaac  Butt  himself  was  a 
signal  and  terrible  example,  of  what  Irish  patriot- 
ism entails.  We  have  already  described  how 
hard  he  had  to  ^york  in  his  closing  days  to  meet 
the  strain  of  professional  and  political  duties 
When  he  was  wrestling  with  the  growing  disease 
that  ultimately  killed  him,  he  was  beset  by  duns 
and  .bailiffs,  and  his  mincj/was  overshadowed  with 
the  dread  thought  that  he  had  left  his  children 
unjprovided  for.  And  to-day,  in  poverty— perhaps 
in  misery — -they  are  paying  the  penalty  of  having 
beeTi  begotten  by  a  great  and  a  true  Irishman. 
Any  man  of  political  experience  or  reading  will 
know  how  easy  it  is  for  a  government  to  rule  a 


^M 

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CHARLES  STEWART  PAR^NELI..  141 

country  if  it  have  the  gift  of  wealth  to  bestow,  or 
the  curse  of  poverty  to  entail.  In  our  own  days 
we  have  seen  France  ruled  for  twenty  years  by 
an  autocrat  through  bayonets  and  offices  ;  and  the 
offices  were  just  as  important  an  element  in  the 
governing  as  the  bayonets.  The  fears  of  the 
timid,  the  hopes  of  the  corrupt,  are  the  founda- 
tions of  unjust  government  in  all  ages.  If  Amer- 
icans be  sometimes  impatient  at  the  duration  of 
British  domination  and  the  helplessness  of  Irish 
efforts  to  overthrow  it,  they  must  always  take  into 
account  the  vast  influence  which  an  extremely 
wealthy  country  has  been  able  to  exercise  over 
an  extremely  poor  country  by  the  gift  of  richly- 
dowered  office. 

HOW   SHAW   WAS    DEPOSED. 

It  was-  not  until  the  end  of  1879,  or  rather  the 
beginning  of  1880,  that  the  Irish  members  of  the 
Imperial  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
chose  Charles  Stewart  Parnell  as  their  leader,  or, 
as  they  styled  it  in  those  days,  "  Chairjnan  of  the 
Party."  Those  of  them  who  were  elected  in  the 
early  campaign  of  1880  who  believed  that  "the 
Tories  could  be  brought  around  to  a  reasonable 
way  of  thinking  by  soothing  talk  and  amiableness 
of  action,"  favored  the  retention  of  Mr.  Shaw  as 
leader.  The  others,  who  favored  the  election  of 
Mr.  Parnell,  wer^  manly  and  outspoken  in  their 
assertions  that  the  time  was  at  hand  when  Ireland 
was  either  to  fall  back  into  landlordism,  rack- 
rent,  eviction  and  starvation,  or  to  go  forth  to  a 
future  of  independence,  prosperity,  and  tranquil 
labor.      It   is   a   strange   fact,    yet    nevertheless 


142  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

true,  that  at  this  vital  juncture  the  easy 
going  Mr.  Shaw  was  very  near  being  appointed 
leauer.  The  different  men  who  had  been  elected 
were  at  the  time  personally  unknown  to  each 
other.  When  they  entered  the  Council  Chamber 
of  the  city  of  Dublin,  where  this  great  gather- 
ing was  taking  place,  they  had  had  no  oppor- 
tunity whatever  of  meeting  in  consultation  and 
of  exchanging  ideas  and  preparing  a  united  lin^ 
of  action.  Some  of  them,  indeed,  who  were  most 
favorable  to  the  claims  of  Mr.  Parnell  were  sup- 
posed to  be  hostile. 

Nor  had  Mr.  Parnell  himself  taken  any  trouble 
to  put  forward  his  claims.  It  is  the  singular 
fortune  of  this  extraordinary  man  to  have  ob- 
tained all  his  power  and  position  without  effort 
on  his  part,  and  apparently  without,  gaining  any 
particular  pleasure  from  his  success.  He  had 
been  down  in  the  country  on  the  night  before  the 
meeting,  and  did  not  reach  Dublin  until  morning. 
Up  to  that  time,  Mr.  Parnell  had  not  seen  any  of 
even-  his  own  friends.  But  some  of  them  had 
met  on  their  own  hook ;  had  talked  over  the 
situation ;  and  had  in  a  general  way  adopted  a 
line  of  action.  This  was  to  put  forward,  and  if 
possible  to  carry,  Mr.  Parnell  as  leader.  The 
gen demen  who  formed  this  nucleus  for  the  meet- 
ing of  the  following  day  were :  Messrs.  John 
Barry,  Comins  McCoan,  Richard  Lalor,  James 
O'Kelly,  Mr.  Biggar  and  T.  P.  O'Connor.     Mr. 


qilARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  ja^ 

Healy  was  not  then  a  member  of  Parliament; 
but  he  was  Mr.  Parnell's  Secretary,  and  he  was 
present  at  the  meeting.  Some  of  these  gentle- 
men met  Mr.  Parnell  the  next  morning  in  the 
street,  as  he  was  on  his  way  to  the  city  hall.  He 
did  not  receive  the  proposal  that  he  should  be 
elected  very  cordially.  His  own  idea  was,  and 
remained  till  an  advanced  period  of  the  meeting, 
that  Mr.  Justin  McCarthy  should  be  elected ;  as 
being  a  man  extreme  enough  in  opinion  for  the 
Parnellites,  and  moderate  enough  in  counsel  for 
the  followers  of  Mr.  Shaw. 

A  debate  of  some  length  took  place,  with  the 
final  result  that  twenty-three  voted  for  Mr.  Par- 
nell, and  eighteen  for  Mr.  Shaw.  The  Lord 
Mayor  of  Dublin,  Mr.  Edmund  Dwyer  Grey, 
presided  over  the  meeting  at  its  start.  When 
the  election  was  over  there  was  an  interval. 
After  this  Mr.  Parnell  quietly  took  the  chair. 
Thus  simply  Mr.  Parnell  was  installed  in  the 
great  position  of  Leader  of  the  Irish  people. 

The  English  papers  did  not  take  much  notice 
of  the  election  at  the  moment;  but  it  was  felt 
that  the  Imperial  Parliament  would  be  met  in  a 
spirit  of  uncompromising  demand  that  might 
lead  to  great  events  and  to  stormy  times,  Be* 
fore  the  meeting  the  Irish  members  had  con- 
cluded to  discuss  the  land  question  ;  and  at  once 
it  became  apparent  that  there  were  differences  of 
opinion  that  might  lead  to  an  ultimate  split  be- 


jA^  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL, 

tween  the  two  sections.  Mr.  Shaw  could  not  get 
beyond  the  old  demand  for  the  "Three  F's;" 
and  insisted  that  this  should  be  the  battle-cry  of 
the  new  party.  But  some  of  the  followers  and 
friends  of  Mr.  Parnell  insisted  that  the  time  had 
past  for  dealing  with  the  Irish  question  on  these 
lines,  and  that  a  bold  move  should  be  at  once 
made  towards  the  proprietorship  of  the  soil  by 
the  peasantry  of  Ireland,  as  by  the  peasantry  of 
France  and  Belgium. 

When  the  party  came  to  London,  another, 
though  not  at  first  sight  a  very  serious,  difference 
of  opinion  arose.  As  the  result  of  the  general 
election,  Mr.  Gladstone  had  come  back  with  a 
splendid  majority.  The  fight  had  taken  place  on 
the  foreign  policy  of  England — and  especially  on 
its  policy  in  the  East  and  in  Asia.  Ireland  was 
not  mentioned  often,  though  Lord  Beaconsfield, 
with  ♦  characteristic  unscrupulousness,  had  at- 
tempted to  get  a  majority  on  an  anti-Irish  cry. 
The  Liberals  were  uncommitted  so  far  as  Ireland 
was  concerned,  but  there  was  a  general  under- 
standing that  a  Ministry  which  contained  such  a 
man  as  Mr.  Gladstone  would  be  inclined  to  view 
the  demands  of  Ireland  with  favor.  However, 
the  Parnellites  knew  that  a  Liberal  Ministry  has 
dangers  as  well  as  advantages.  The  tribe  of 
Irish  office-seekers  was  already  on  the  watch,  and 
it  was  quite  possible  that  before  very  long  it 
would  be  offering  its  mercenary  service  to  the 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  145 

Ministers.  In  that  way  the  party  would  be  de- 
moralized ;  and  Ireland  once  more  would  be 
hopeless  because  betrayed. 

These  and  other  considerations  underlay  the 
question  which  now  came  to  be  discussed  between 
the  different  sections  of  the  Irish  party^  that 
question  was  where  the  Irish  members  should 
take  their  seats.  It  should  be  explained  to  the 
American  reader  that  in  the  House  of  Commons 
the  rule  is  for  the  party  in  power  to  take  its 
place  on  the  right  of  the  Speaker's  chair.  When 
the  Liberals  are  in  power  they  are  on  the  right 
of  the  Speaker.  When  the  Tories  come  in  they 
pass  over  to  the  opposite  side,  and  sit  on  the 
left  of  the  Speaker's  chair.  The  right  is  the 
Ministerial,  the  left  the  Opposition  side  of  the 
House.  The  benches  on  each  side  are  divided 
about  half  down  by  a  passage ;  this  passage  is 
known  in  Parliamentary  phraseology  as  the  gang- 
way. Hitherto  the  Irish  members  had  sat  on  the 
benches  below  the  gangway  on  the  opposition 
side  of  the  House.  There  could  be  no  objection 
to  this  course  as  long  as  the  Liberals  were  out  of 
power;  then  the  Irish  were  naturally  a  part  of 
the  general  opposition  to  the  Tory  Ministers. 
But  the  Liberals  were  now  in  office ;  they  were 
sympathetic;  and  the  question  rose  whether  the 
Irish  members  should,  by  remaining  on  the  op- 
position side  of  the  House,  make  open  declara- 
tion of  opposition  to  them  as  to  the  Tories.    The 


146  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Parnellites  gave  "Yes"  as  the  answer  to  this 
question ;  the  section  led  by  Mr.  Shaw  answered 
-  No." 

An  American  reader  at  first  sight  will  perhaps 
be  inclined  to  smile  at  the  importance  attached  to 
this  apparendy  trivial  point;  but  there  were  im- 
portant issues  underneath  the  question  of  the 
seats.  The  Government  was  friendly  to  Ireland, 
'and  no  Minister  had  kindlier  intentions  than  Mr. 
Gladstone.  But  the  Ministry  and  Mr.  Gladstone 
were  the  creatures  of  the  political  forces  around 
them;  and  in  1880,  as  in  every  year  since  the 
Union,  the  wishes  of  Ireland  were  on  one  side 
and  the  polidcal  forces  of  England  pretty  solid 
on  the  other.  Ireland  wanted  a  radical,  almost 
a  revolutionary  change  in  the  Land  laws;  she 
wanted  equally  a  radical  if  not  a  revoludonary 
change  in  the  relations  of  the  two  countries; 
and  to  these  changes  the  majority  of  Mn  Glad- 
stone's supporters  were  just  as  inimical  as  the 
bitterest  Tory.  If  Ireland,  then,  were  to  pursue 
Radical  ends  she  must  come  into  collision  with 
Mr.  Gladstone  and  the  Liberal  Ministry,  painful 
as  that  might  be.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  in- 
terests of  English  pardes  and  not  those  of  Ire- 
land were  to  be  considered  supreme,  the  Irish 
would  be  justified  in  taking  their  places  among 
the  Liberals.  The  Parnellites  thought— -and 
events  proved  the  justice  of  their  views — that 
it   was   impossible    to   serve    the   God   of    Irish 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  i^y 

rights  and  the  Mammon  of  English  parties. 
Mr.  Parnell  and  his  friends  resolved  to  remain 
in  opposition;  Mr.  Shaw  and  his  followers  sat 
among  the  Liberals  like  good  Ministerialists. 
One  of  the  consequences  foretold  by  Mr.  Par- 
nell of  this  action  soon  came  about.  Before 
long  Mr.  Shaw  found  place  after  place  become 
vacant  beside  him ;  his  friends  had  sold  them- 
selves for  place  and  pay. 

Another  and  more'important  of  the  prophecies 
of  Parnell  was  also  realized  before  long.  His  con- 
tention was  that  between  the  demands  of  an  Irish 
Nationalist  party  and  the  will  of  an  English  Libr 
eral  Ministry  there  would  come  irreconcileable 
differences  that  must  lead  to  hostile  collision. 
The  very  opening  day  of  the  session  proved 
this.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Land 
question  had  reached  a  very  acute  stage  in  Ire- 
land. The  farmers  once  more  were  demanding 
the  protection  of  their  lives  and  property  from 
the  destruction  brought  upon  them  by  plunder- 
ing landlords,  and  the  country  had  just  narrowly 
•escaped  from  the  jaws  of  famine.  At  the  very 
moment,  indeed,  when  Parliament  met  there  were 
still  800,000  men  and  women  in  the  receipt  of  re- 
lief from  the  various  funds  raised  by  charitable 
organizations  throughout  the  world.  But,  never- 
theless, all  this  tragedy  had  not  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  English  authorities  ;  and  the 
Imperial  Parliament  were  as  ignorant  of  it  all  as 


J  .g  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELI. 

If  it  had  never  existed.  The  knowledge  in  Eng- 
land on  the  question  was  confined  to  a  vague  im- 
pression that  there  was  some  distress  in  Ireland, 
but  then  that  odious  and  tiresome  country  was 
always  more  or  less  in  distress ;  and  there  was  a 
strong  impression  that  Mr.  Parnell  had  made 
very  violent  and  wholly  unjustifiable  speeches. 
Of  course  all  this  simply  meant  that  the  farmers 
were  once  again  putting  forward  claims  that  no 
British  Ministry  could  possibly  consent  to ;  that 
wicked  agitators  were  stirring  up  the  people  to 
impossible  demands;  that  murder  was  walking 
abroad  through  the  country ;  and  that  if  anything 
were  wanted  in  Ireland  it  was  a  new  Coercion 
Bill  by  which  the  Irish  people  could  be  brought 
to  a  condition  of  good  sense  and  good  temper. 

Meantime  it  may  be  as  well  to  pause  here  for 
a  moment  and  hear  from  the  Irish  people  them- 
selves what  it  was  that  they  demanded.  In  April 
of  1880  there  had  taken  place  a  convention  in 
Dublin  of  the  Land  League,  and  there  the  follow- 
ing platform  of  Land  reform  had  been  laid  down  : 

To  carry  out  the  permanent  reform  of  land  ten- 
ure we  propose  the  creation  of  a  Department  or 
Commission  of  Land  Administration  for  Ireland. 
This  Department  would  be  invested  with  ample 
powers  to  deal  with  all  questions  relating  to  land 
in  Ireland,  (i)  Where  the  landlord  and  tenant 
of  any  holding  had  agreed  for  the  sale  to  the 
tenant  of  the  said  holding,  the  Department  would 

19 


CHARLES  STEWART  TARNELL.  149 

execute  the  necessary  conveyance  to  the  tenant 
and  advance  him  the  whole  or  part  of  the  pur- 
chase-money;  and  upon  such  advance  being  made 
by  the  Department  such  holding  would  be  deemed 
to  be  charged  with  an  annuity  of  ;^5  for  every 
;^ioo  of  such  advance,  and  so  in  proportion  for 
any  less  sum,  such  annuity  to  be  limited  in  favor 
of  the  Department,  and  to  be  declared  to  be  re- 
payable in  the  term  of  thirty-five  years. 

(2)  When  a  tenant  tendered  to  the  landlord 
for  the  purchase  of  his  holding  a  sum  equal  to 
twenty  years  of  the  Poor  Law  valuation  thereof 
the  Department  would  execute  the  conveyance 
of  the  said  holding  to  the  tenant,  arid  would  be 
empowered  to  advance  to  the  tenant  the  whole 
or  any  part  of  the  purchase-money,  the  repay- 
ment of  which  would  be  secured  as  set  forth  in 
the  case  of  voluntary  sales. 

(3)  The  Department  would  be  empowered  to 
acquire  the  ownership  of  any  estate  upon  tender- 
ing to  the  owner  thereof  a  sum  equal  to  twenty 
years  of  the  Poor  Law  valuation  of  such  estate, 
and  to  let  said  estate  to  the  tenants  at  a  rent 
equal  to  3j^  per  cent,  of  the  purchase-money 
thereof. 

(4)  The  Department  or  the  Court  having  juris- 
diction in  this  matter  would  be  empowered  to  de- 
termine the  rights  and  priorities  of  the  several 
persons  entitled  to,  or  having  charges  upon,  or 
otherwise  interested  in  any  holding  conveyed  as 


.GMAtlLES  STEWART  PARNELL.    ..  f§t 

^bove  tTientioned,.and  would  distribute  the  pur^ 
chase-money,  in  accordance  with  such  rights  and 
priorities ;  and  when  any  moneys  arising  from  a 
sale  were  not'immediately  distributed  the  Depart- 
ment would  have  a  right  to  invest  the  said  moneys 
for  the  benefit  of  the  parties  entitled  thereto.  Pro- 
vision would  be  made  whereby  the  Treasury  could 
from  time  to  time  advance  to  the  Department  such 
sums  of  money  as  would  be  required  for  the  pur- 
chases above  mentioned. 

The  doctrines  laid  down  in  this  programme 
were  afterwards  in  the  main  adopted  by  the  Im- 
perial Parliament,  but  not  until  there  had  been  a 
vast  amount  of  fierce  struggling  and  bitter  suf- 
fering. 

This  platform  formulated  demands  for  the  per- 
manent settlement  of  the  land  problem.  Mean- 
time there  was  a  point  which  demanded  attention 
and.  immediate  legislation.  What  was  to  be  done 
with  the  people  whom  the  disastrous' failure  of  the 
crops  made  incapable  of  paying  the  rents  ?  It  was 
now  that  the  defects  of  the  Land  Act  of  1870 
came  out  more  clearly  than  ever  before.  A  A^ast 
proportion , of  the  Irish  tenants  were  at  the  mercy 
of  the  landlords,  and  the  landlords  were  merciless. 
Evictions  were  going  on  all  over  the  c6\iiitr^. 
The  mass  of  poverty  and  hopeless  niisery:  was 
being  daily  increased,  and  if  the  landlords  were 
allowed  to  go  on  at  the  present  rate,  there  was 
fair  chance  of  a  national  disaster.    To  all  these 


1 5  2  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

things  the  reply  of  the  Government  was  absolutely 
nothing.  The  Queen's  speech  contained  para- 
graphs upon  all  possible  subjects,  and  with  regard 
to  almost  every  nation  in  the  Queen's  dominions, 
but  of  Ireland  not  one  word. 

It  was  discovered  that  upon  the  Irish  Land 
question  the  Queen's  speech  was  a  perfect  reflex 
of  the  state  of  mind  among  the  Queen's  ministers. 
On  the  question  of  Ireland  the  ministerial  mind 
was  a  blank.  Mr.  Gladstone  is  too  frank  a  man 
not  to  reveal  to  the  public  at  some  time  or  other 
the  workings  of  his  mind.  Speaking  four  years 
afterwards  to  his  constituents  in  Midlothian,  he 
used  the  following  remarkable  words : 

"  I  must  say  one  word  more  upon,  I  might  say, 
a  still  more  important  subject — the  subject  of  Ire- 
land. It  did  not  enter  into  my  address  to  you,  for 
what  reason  I  know  not;  but  the  Government 
that  was  then  in'  power,  rather,  I  think,  kept  back 
from  Parliament,  certainly  were  not  forward  to 
lay  before  Parliament,  what  was  going  on  in  Ire- 
land until  the  day  of  the  dissolution  came  and  the 
address  of  Lord  Beaconsfield  was  published  in 
undoubtedly  very  imposing  terms.  ...  I  frankly 
admit  that  I  had  much  upon  my  hands  connected 
with  the  doings  of  that  Government  in  almost 
every  quarter  of  the  world,  and  I  did  not  know — 
no  one  knew — the  severity  of  the  crisis  that  was 
already  swelling  upon  the  horizon,  and  that 
shoi;tly  after  rushed  upon  us  like  a  flood." 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  le^ 

This  certainly  is  one  of*  the  mo»t  astonishing 
confessions  that  were  ever  made  by  a  Minister, 
and  it  throws  as  much  light  as  any  other  speech 
of  Mr.  Gladstone  upon  the  vexed  question  as  to 
whether  the  union  of  the  Legislatures  is  good  for 
England  or  for  Ireland.  Of  all  the  Ministers  that 
ever  reigned  in  England,  there  has  never  been 
one  of  more  voracious  reading  or  more  restless 
activity  or  who  more  nearly  approached  to  om- 
niscience than  Mr.  Gladstone.  He  could  speak 
of  a  passage  in  Homer,  a  poem  of  Dante,  a  con- 
ceit of  Voltaire ;  of  a  forgotten  passage  in  the 
history  of  Greece  or  in  the  discoveries  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel ;  he  can  discourse  upon  the  deepest 
secrets  of  theology  and  the  highest  problems  of 
statesmanship  or  the  smallest  points  of  detail, 
such  as  railway  fares  and  freight  rates,  with  equal 
ease  and  with  equal  command.  Yet  here  was  a 
great  national  tragedy  taking  place  in  Ireland, 
with  all  the  attendant  horrors  of  a  mighty  national 
convulsion,  and  Mr.  Gladstone,  the  Prime  Minis- 
ter of  England,  within  three  hours*  reach  of  Ire- 
land by  steam,  was  absolutely  ignorant  of  every- 
thing going  on  there.  That  one  fact  alone  was 
one  of  the  most  potent  arguments  that  could  be 
used  in  favor  of  removing  Irish  affairs  from  the 
mercy  of  English  incapacity. 

'The  Irish  members  immediately  after  they 
heard  the  Queen's  speech  found  themselves  face 
to  face  with  a  question  of  dispute  about  the  seats 


1^4  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

in  the  House  of  Commons.  Were  they  to  be 
patient  with  the  Ministry,  to  consult  its  ease  and 
its  interests  and  to  postpone  the  pressing  de- 
mands of  Ireland  until  such  time  as  ministers 
might  consider  opportune  and  convenient?  It 
was  held  that  such  a  course  would  be  a  betrayal 
of  the  interests  and  the  hopes  of  Ireland.  In  the 
face  of  a  tragedy  so  terrible,  of  sufferings  so  keen, 
as  were  racking  Ireland  it  was  decided  that  delay 
was  death,  and  that  it  was  their  duty  as  Irish 
representatives  to  press  forward  the  claims  of 
Ireland  without  the  least  regard  for  anything  save 
Ireland's  supreme  agony  and  mighty  need.  Ac- 
cordingly they  at  once  proposed  an  amendment 
to  the  Queen's  speech  insisting  that  the  Land 
question  of  Ireland  required  immediate  dealing 
with.  Their  demands  were  regarded  either  as 
wicked  or  ridiculous.  Here  was  a  Ministry  just 
come  into  office  scarcely  warm  in  its  place  and 
with  difficulties  to  encounter  and  errors  to  amend 
in  all  parts  of  the  world !  But  the  reply  of  the 
Irish  members  was  that  if  there  were  an  Irish 
Parliament  the  voice  of  Ireland  would  demand 
and  would  receive  immediate  attention  ;  and  that 
it  was  not  the  fault  of  Ireland  that  an  overworked 
Ministry  and  a  Parliament  with  all  the  world  to 
survey  had  the  sole  control  of  Irish  interests 
and  Irish  fortunes.  .  .  .  Mr.  Shaw  joined  the 
Government  in  its  policy;  and  so  the  division 
between    the   two    sections  of   the  Irish   party 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARKELL.  155 

widened  to  an  impassable  chasm,  and  from  this 
time  forward  they  rarely  if  ever  kept  together. 

The  amendment  to  the  Queen's  speech  was  of 
course  lost,  but  the  Irish  party  were  not  yet  done 
with  the  question.  They  immediately  brought  in 
a  bill  the  object  of  which  was  to  suspend  evictions 
for  a  certain  period  until  Ireland  was  able  to  re- 
cover from  the  stunning  blow  of  the  ruined 
harvest.  The  bill  by  some  miracle  was  allowed 
to  escape  blocking  and  came  before  the  House 
of  Commons  at  two  o'clock  one  morning.  Mr. 
Gladstone  saw  now  that  the  question  could  no 
longer  be  avoided,  asked  for  a  postponement  of 
the  Irish  Bill,  and  in  a  few  days  afterwards 
announced  that  the  Government  themselves  were 
prepared  to  deal  with  the  question  which  this 
bill  raised.  And  thus  within  a  few  days  after  the 
opening  of  Parliament  the  Parnell  party  had 
gained  an  important  victory;  and  instead  of 
Ireland  being  without  attention  or  without  relief 
it  was  placed  in  the  forefront  of  the  Ministerial 
programme. 

This  was  the  way  in  which  the  measure  known 
as  the  Disturbance  Bill  was  brought  into  being. 
This  bill  gave  the  power  to  County  Court  Judges 
to  suspend  evictions  in  cases  where,  owing  to  the 
distress,  the  tenant  was  unable  to  pay  the  exist- 
ing rent.  The  bill  led  to  fierce  discussions — the 
landlord  party  on  both  sides  of  the  House  oppos- 
ing it  vehemently.     In  the  end  it  passed  through 


j^c6  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

the  House  gf  Commons ;  but  when  it  got  to  the 
House  of  Lords  it  was  rejected  by  an  overwhelm- 
ing majority.  It  had  not  gone  through  the  House 
of  Commons,  however,  without  extorting  from 
Mr.  Gladstone  some  very  remarkable  words  with 
regard  to  the  state  of  Ireland.  Thus  he  brought 
out  clearly  the  relentless  cruelty  of  the  landlords. 
**  If,"  he  said  on  this  subject,  "  we  look  to  the  total 
numbers  we  find  that  in  1878  there  were  .1,749 
evictions;  in  1879  2,607;  and,  as  was  shown  by 
my  right  honorable  and  learned  friend,  1,690  in 
the  five  and  a  half  months  of  this  year-^showing 
a  further  increase  upon  the  enormous  increase 
of  last  year,  and  showing  in  fact  unless  it  be 
checked  that  15,000  individuals  will  be  ejected 
from  their  homes  without  hope,  without  remedy 
in  the  course  of  the  present  year."  "  By  the  fail- 
ure of  the  crops  during  the  year  1879  the  act 
of  God  had  replaced  the  Irish  occupier  in  the 
condition  in  which  he  stood  before  the  Land  Act; 
Because  what  had  he  to  contemplate  ?  He  had 
to  contemplate  eviction  for  his  non-payment  of 
rent;  and,  as  a  consequence  of  eviction,  starva- 
tion ;  and  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say,  in  a  coun- 
try where  the  agricultural  pursuit  is  the  only  pur- 
suit, and  where  the  means  of  the  payment  of  rent 
are  entirely  destroyed  for  a  time  by  the  visitation 
of  Providence,  that  the  poor  occupier  may  under 
these  circumstances  regard  a  sentence  of  eviction 
as  coming,  for  him,  very  near  a  sentence  of 
death." 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  THE  GREAT  IRISH  AGITATOR. 


ic8  CtlARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Very  remarkable  consequences  followed  from 
the  rejection  of  the  Disturbance  Bill  by  the  House 
of  Lords.  There  were  1 5,000  people  about  to  be 
evicted  from  their  homes — about  to  have  decreed 
against  them  by  the  landlords  sentences  of  death. 
The  tenant  was  left,  therefore,  to  use  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's words  again,  "without  hope,  without 
remedy." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

COERCION    IN    FULL   SWING. 

In  January,  1881,  Parliament  was  called  to- 
gether, nearly  a  month  earlier  than  usual,  in  order 
to  give  **the  Forster  Government"  time  to  pass 
its  subsequent  measures  of  Coercion.  After 
their  passage  there  began  a  fierce  and  merciless 
war  between  the  Irish  people  and  the  British 
authorities. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  detestable  Forster 
was  the  employment  of  retired  or  dismissed  mili- 
tary and  civil  officers  to  put  down  all  free  expres- 
sion of  opinion.  One  of  these  ruffians,  Clifford 
Lloyd,  maybe  taken  as  a  fair  sample  of  his  fel- 
lows. It  is  related  of  him  by  gentlemen  whose 
honor  and  veracity  have  never  been  impugned 
that  in  carrying  out  his  despotic  Instructions  **he 
arrested  a  village,  almost  to  the  last  man;  he 
insulted  women  in  the  grossest  manner.  Men  or 
women  who  stood  in  the  streets  to  exchange  salu- 
tations were  accused  of  'obstructing  the  pathway,* 
and  the  latter,  especially,  were  on  the  most  frivo- 

159 


l6o  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL^, 

lous  pretexts  brought  before  a  stipendiary  magis- 
trate and  subjected  to  indignities  reserved  only 
for  the  abandoned.  He  had  the  audacity  to  have 
imprisoned  in  solitary  confinement  for  periods 
often  of  six  months,  some  of  the  most  refined 
women  of  Ireland,  on  charges  of  vagrancy.  Chil- 
dren of  the  most  tender  years  were  repeatedly 
put  in  the  docks  charged  with  'endangering  the 
peace  of  the  Queen.'"  What  these  poor  babes 
did  to  endanger  the  physical  or  mental  peace  of 
the  old  lady  no  man  could  find  out,  and  no  other 
reason  could  be  assigned  than  that  Lloyd  wished 
to  strike  terrorism  into  the  hearts  of  the  people'. 
Newspapers  were  proceeded  against  for  daring 
to  mention  these  villainies.  The  prisons  were 
crowded,  evictions  were  ruthlessly  carried  on  in 
almost  every  quarter  of  the  island,  and  the  das- 
tardly work  of  the  evicting  bailiffs  was  protected 
by  a  force  of  13,000  policemen,  armed  with  rifles 
and  swords  or  bayonets,  supplemented  by  foot 
soldiers,  cavalry,  artillery  and  blue  jackets.  All 
of  these  were  on  hand  to  assist  the  landlords,  non- 
resident and  otherwise,  in  driving  starving  tenants 
from  their  homes.  The  Irish  people,  driven  to 
desperation,  were  at  last  at  bay.  The  British 
Government  capped  the  climax  of  their  audacity 
by  the  arrest  on  the  morning  of  Thursday,  Octo- 
ber 13,  1 88 1,  of  Charles  Stewart  Parnell,  ''under 
the  Coercion  Act."  John  Dillon,  Thomas  Sexton, 
J.  J.  O' Kelly  and  William  O^Brien,  the  fearless 


THE  OBNOXIOUS  PROCESS-SERVER. 


l62  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

editor  of  United  Ireland,  and  about  600  prominent 
Land  Leaguers,  were  also  placed  in  prison,  as 
"  suspects."  The  Irish  Land  League,  which  had 
been  organized  in  Dublin,  on  October  21,  1879, 
with  Mr.  Parnell  as  its  President,  was  suppressed, 
and  the  famous  '*  No  Rent"  manifesto  was  issued 
by  its  leaders  in  retaliation.  The  manifesto  and 
the  antecedent  events,  fraught  as  they  were  with 
so  much  of  suffering  and  misery  among  the  Irish 
peasantry,  that  elicited  the  indignation  not  alone  of 
this  country,  but  also  that  of  the  civilized  world, 
require  separate  chapters  to  themselves. 

THE   FAMINE   OF    1 879. 

In  my  boyhood  days,  I  read,  with  the  hot  tears 
blinding  my  eyes,  the  pitiful  story  of  the  Irish 
famine  of  1847-49.  The  potato  crop,  which  was 
almost  the  sole  support  of  the  population,  was 
struck  with  blight  in  the  fall  or  autumn  of  1846, 
and  rotted  in  the  ground.  Then,  as*  in  the  later 
and  disastrous  famine  of  1879-80,  the  action  of 
the  British  Government  was  slow,  blundering  and 
im|)otent.  The  unfortunate  peasantry  died  in 
hundreds  of  thousands,  **  amid  scenes,"  says 
David  Power  Conyngham,  ''of  anguish  and  hor- 
ror beyond  human  power  adequately  to  portray." 
From  the  day  on  which,  in  1877,  Mr.  Parnell  was 
elected  a  member  of  Parliament  for  Meath  until 
he  sailed  for  this  country  in  December  of  1879, 
famine  brooded  over  the  land.     The   wholesale 


164  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

evictions  of  1877  were  immediately  followed  by  a 
general  failure  of  the  crops.  A  subsequent  wet 
season  and  general  failure  of  the  crops  marked 
the  year  1878.  The  peasantry,  especially  in  the 
far  north,  the  west  and  parts  of  the  south  of 
Ireland  were  suffering  from  want,  and  but  few 
efforts,  save  those  of  Mr.  Parnell,  his  associates 
of  the  Irish  Land  League,  and  the  devoted  and 
patriotic  Roman  Catholic  clergymen  were  then 
exerted  to  relieve  them. 

As  the  big  circle  of  the  country  covered  in 
what  was  then  known  as  "the  famine  districts'* 
gradually  grew  larger,  until  it  almost  seemed 
as  if  the  entire  country  would  be  involved 
in  the  famine,  so  the  fiews  of  the  sad  state 
of  affairs  became  noised  abroad,  and  helping 
hands  and  generous  hearts  on  this  side  of  the 
broad  Atlantic  gave  freely  and  liberally  in  aid  of 
the  distressed.  James  Gordon  Bennett,  of  the 
New  York  Herald,  George  W.  Childs,  the  philan- 
thropist, whose  good  deeds  in  aid  of  suffering  hu- 
manity and  whose  charity  and  generosity  are 
known  the  wide  world  over,  Anthony  J.  Drexel, 
the  eminent  head  of  the  great  banking-house  of 
Drexel  &  Co.,  and,  indeed,  all  of  the  leading  men 
and  good  women  of  the  United  States  vied  with 
each  other,  not  alone  in  the  number  and  volume  of 
their  individual  donations  of  money,  provisions, 
clothing,  etc.,  but  in  forming  citizens*  committees, 
in  every  section,  whose  sole  object  it  was  to  help 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  165 

in  swelling  the  general  fund  for  the  rehef  of  Ire- 
land. I  was  the  Secretary  of  the  Philadelphia 
Relief  Committee  and  gladly  bear  testimony  to 
the  good  work  so  well  done  in  those  trying  days 
by  John  Wanamaker,  who  is  now  the  Postmaster- 
General  of  the  United  States,  Thomas  Dolan, 
Thomas  Martindale,  the  gallant  and  accomplished 
Dr.  William  Carroll,  William  F.  Roantree,  the 
noble-hearted  Irish  patriot,  the  flower  of  whose 
early  life  was  spent  in  British  dungeons,  where  he 
was  consigned  on  charges  of  "treason-felony," 
Charles  A.  Hardy,  of  the  Catholic  Standardy  and 
other  members  of  the  Committee.  The  work- 
ing classes  in  every  State  in  the  Union  were  as 
earnest  in  the  work  of  relief  as  the  wealthy.  The 
delvers  in  the  coal  regions  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
toilers  in  the  mills,  factories,  and  work-shops  of 
Philadelphia,  Boston,  Providence,  Baltimore,  New 
York,  Chicago,  San  Francisco,  St.  Louis,  New 
Orleans,  Cincinnati,  Charleston,  aye,  and  of  every 
city,  town  and  village,  however  small,  gave  of  their 
earnings  gladly  and  freely.  Many  in,stances  qame 
to  my  knowledge  of  poor  factory  girls  giving  an 
entire  week's  work  to  the  sacred  cause.  How 
was  it  in  Ireland  at  this  time  ?  What  was  the 
condition  of  affairs  that  brought  forth  this  boun- 
tiful measure  of  substantial  sympathy  from  the 
American  heart? 

The  landlords,  absentees  and  residents  as  well, 
through  their  agents,  were  on  all  sides  exacting 


CHARLES  STEWART  I»ARnELL.  \^y 

th6  last  penny  of  their  rack-rents  from  the  dis- 
tiressed  people.  The  crops  of  all  kinds  were  rotten 
in  the  ground.  A  blight,  bitter  and  accursed,  over- 
spread the  land  like  a  pall.  The  people  had  no 
money  to  buy  food  and  no  means  of  procuring 
any.  James  Redpath,  who  made  a  personal  tour 
of  inspection  to  report  on  the  state  of  the  farmers, 
wrote  that  **from  every  county  came  official  an- 
nouncements that  the  destitution  is  increasing.** 
A  geographical  allocution  of  the  distress  gives  to 
the  County  Leitrim  (in  round  numbers)  47,000, 
Roscommon  46,000,  Sligo  48,000,  Galway  124,- 
000,  Mayo  143,000. 

These  **round  numbers  "  are  3750  under  the 
exact  figures,  and  they  do  not  do  anything  like 
conveying  a  full  or  adequate  idea  of  the  extent  of 
the  distress,  for  they  do  not  include  the  North, 
where  in  the  County  Donegal,  for  example,  as  in 
the  County  Antrim,  the  condition  of  the  poor  was 
appalling.  A  few  quotations,  however,  from  some 
of  the  parishes  of  these  counties  on  the  west  coast 
will  tell  their  own  story:  "privation  beyond  de- 
scription,'* ''their  famine-stricken  appearance 
would  make  the  stoniest  heart  feel  for  them,"  "  no 
food,"  "no  clothing,"  "no  fuel,'*  "destitution 
appalling."  Each  one  of  these  phrases,  says  Mr. 
Redpath,  is  a  literal  quotation  from  the  business- 
like reports  of  the  local  committees  of  the  Mansion 
House. 

The  bodies  organized  for  helping  the  distressed 
were   known    as   The    Mansion    House    Relief 


l68  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Committee,  The  Bennett  Relief  Committee,  The 
Duchess  of  Marlborough  Committee,  The  Phila- 
delphia Citizens'  Committee,  and  The  Land 
League  Relief  Committee.  Each  of  them  had  its 
own  way  or  method  of  relief,  and  it  was  fortunate, 
indeed,  for  the  sufferers  when  that  frightful  scourge, 
which  has  gone  down  into  history  under  the  name 
of  '*The  Famine  Fever,"  began  its  awful  ravages 
among  the  already  sadly-stricken  people,  that  their 
ramifications  extended  so  far  that  they  absolutely 
had  every  county  and  town-land  on  their  relief 
books. 

And  what  do  these  books  tell  ?  A  story  sicken- 
ing in  its  details,  teeming  with  instances  of  shock- 
ing barbarity  and  heartless  brutality  on  the  part  of 
the  landlords,  and  of  sorrow,  want,  and  abject 
misery  on  the  part  of  the  tenantry.  Let  me  call 
a  few  of  these  instances.  The  Rev.  James 
Stephens,  of  Killybegs,  reports  of  one  family  in 
his  parish,  thus :  ''  Thomas  Gallagher,  of  Correan; 
eleven  of  a  family,  five  of  them  with  bass-mats 
tied  around  them  for  clothing,  no  fire,  no  bed  but 
a  small  heap  of  straw.*'  Takd  another  report, 
that  of  the  Rev.  J.  Maguire,  of  Cloumany,  who 
tells  that  'T  was  called  to  attend,  a  man  who  the 
doctor  declared  was  dying  from  a  disease  brought 
on  from  want  of  nourishment.  The  man  was 
rolled  up  in  what  had  once  been  a  shawl.  This 
and  an  old  sheet  were  the  only  covering  he  had  on 
him.    The  house  was  destitute  of  every  kind  of 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  1 69 

fjrniture.  The  children  were  literally  naked  and 
gathered  around  a  few  smouldering  sods.'* 

And  these  were  not  by  any  means  isolated 
cases,  for  precisely  similar  was  the  condition  of 
things  in  the  six  counties  of  Munster,  where  the 
Mansion  House.  Committee  was  represented  by 
two  hundred  and  fifty  local  committees.  Their 
reports  showed  that  232,759  persons  were  **in 
terrible  distress  "  in  that  province.  Here  are  the 
reports  in  round  numbers:  County  Waterford 
8,100,  Tipperary  17,000,  Limerick  17,000,  Clare 
43,000,  Cork  70,000,  Kerry  75,000. 

Mr.  James  Redpath,  in  one  of  his  soul- stirring 
lectures,  says:  "I  have  been  in  several  villages 
where  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  them  would 
have  died  from  hunger  within  one  month,  or 
perhaps  one  week,  from  the  hour  in  which  the 
relief  that  they  now  solely  rely  on  should  be 
refused,  because  the  men  have  neither  a  mouthful 
of  food  nor  any  chance  of  earning  a  shilling,  nor 
any  other  way  of  getting  provisions  for  their 
families  until  the  ripening  of  the  crops  in  autumn. 
I  have  entered  hundreds  of  Irish  cabi'ns  in  districts 
where  the  relief  is  distributed.  These  cabins  are 
more  wretched  than  the  cabins  of  the  negroes 
were  in  the 

DARKEST  DAYS   OF  SLAVERY. 

"The  Irish  peasant  can  neither  dress  as  well,  nor 
is  he  fed  as  well  as  the  southern  slave  was  fed,  and 
dressed,  and  lodged.     Donkeys,  and  cows,  and 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  i;i 

pigs,  and  hens  live  in  the  same  wretched  room 
with  the  family.  Many  of  these  cabins  had  not  a 
single  article  of  bed-clothing,  except  guano  sacks 
or  potato  bags,  and  when  the  old  folks  had  a 
tlanket  it  was  tattered  and  filthy.  I  saw  only  one 
woman  in  all  these  cabins  whose  face  did  not  look 
sad  and  care-racked,  and  she  was  dumb  and 
idiotic." 

*'  The  Irish  have  been  described  by  novelists  and 
travelers  as  a  light-hearted  and  rollicking  people — 
full  of  fun  and  quick  in  repartee — equally  ready  to 
dance  or  to  fight.  I  did  not  find  them  so.  I  found 
them  in  the  west  of  Ireland  a  sad  and  despondent 
people,  care-worn,  broken-hearted,  and  shrouded 
in  gloom.  Never  once  in  the  hundreds  of  cabins 
that  I  entered- — neyer  once,  even — did  I  catch  the 
thrill  of  a  merry  voice  nor  the  light  of  a  joyous  eye. 
Old  men  and  boys,  old  women  and  girls,  young 
men  and  maidens— all  of  them,  without  a  solitary 
^xception^-were  grave,  or  haggard,  and  every 
liousehould  looked  as  if  the  plague  of  the  first-born 
had  smitten  them  that  hour." 


CHAPTER  XII. 


SPREADING   THE    LIGHT. 


Immediately  after  his  arrival  in  this  country  on 
January  2, 1880,  Mr.  Parnell,  who  was  accompanied 
by  John  Dillon,  delivered  addresses  in  many  of  the 
large  cities  of  the  Union,  and  wherever  they  went 
his  cool,  argumentative  and  dispassionate  dis- 
courses gained  hosts  of  influential  American 
friends,  who  contributed  freely  and  liberally  to  the 
Irish  cause.  The  first  contribution  to  the  Land 
League  funds  was  $1,000  from  Mr.  George  W. 
Childs.  On  the  second  of  February,  1880,  Mr. 
Parnell  had  the  honor  of  a  formal  reception  by  the 
United  States  Congress,  and  his  address  to  the 
United  States  Senators  and  Representatives  on 
that'  occasion  really  solidified  the  interest  which 
since  then  has  remained,  deep  and  abiding  in  the 
breasts  of  the  American  people.  Through  the 
united  efforts  of  Mr.  Parnell  and  Mr.  Dillon  over 
^70,000  were  sent  from  America  to  Patrick  Egan, 
the  Land  League's  treasurer  in  Dublin. 
172 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  1/3 

This  is  the  Patrick  Egan  whom  the  rancor  of 
the  British  Government  drove  to  a  hasty  flight  to 
Paris,  France,  to  escape  incarceration  in  the 
Kilmainham  Jail  for  alleged  participation  in  the 
work  of  the  Irish  Invincibles.  He  is  the  same 
Patrick  Egan  who,  but  a  few  short  years  after  he 
landed  on  our  shores,  was  elected  President  of 
the  Irish  National  League  of  America.  He  is  the 
same  Hon.  Patrick  Egan  whom  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  the  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Harrison, 
has  appointed  United  States  Minister  to  Chi 

Before  leaving  New  York  for  his  home  in  Ire- 
land, Mr.  Parnell  held  a  conference  with  several 
prominent  men  from  various  parts  of  the  Union. 
The  result  of  their  deliberations  was  a  conference, 
lasting  two  days,  which  was  held  in  Trenor  Hall, 
New  York,  on  May  i8  and  19,  1880,  at  which 
the  Hon.  Patrick  A.  Collins,  of  Boston,  presided. 
Appropriate  resolutions  were  there  drawn  up  and 
agreed  to,  a  provisional  constitution  adopted  and 
the  following  elected  as  national  officers :  J.  j. 
McCafferty,  President ;  Rev.  Lawrence  Walsh, 
Treasurer;  Michael  Davitt,  Secretary. 

.  Almost  immediately  after  the  meeting  the  Presi- 
dent resigned,  and  the  patriot,  Michael  Davitt, 
went  home  to  Ireland  to  face  threatened  impris- 
onment. The  conduct  of  the  entire  executive 
business  of  the  Land  League  was  thus  thrown 
upon  Father  Walsh. 

Feeling  the  necessity  for  prompt  and  energetic 
work,  that  patriot  priest  used  every  exertion  to 


174  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

further  the  success  of  the  movement.  Branches 
were  formed  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Boston, 
Chicago,  and  other  great  cities  and  centres  of 
population,  and  contributions  to  the  League  funds 
were  transmitted  to  Ireland  through  the  Irish 
World,  Boston  Pilot,  and  other  journals,  as  well 
as  through  the  regular  treasurer. 

Father  Walsh  found,  after  laboring  incessantly 
and  unwearyingly  for  several  months,  that  more 
concerted  action  and  a  more  effective  organization 
were  absolutely  necessary.  Hence,  he  issued  a 
call  to  the  delegates  of  the  various  branches  to 
meet  in  convention  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  on  the  12th 
and  13th  of  January,  1881. 

This  was  really  the  first  Land  League  Con- 
vention held  in  the  United  States  of  America.  Its 
results  were  as  great  as  they  were  far-reaching, 
both  in  the  number  of  Land  League  branches 
that  were  organized  throughout  the  country  and  in 
the  amount  of  money  contributed  by  and  through  its 
members.  In  their  ranks  were  to  be  found,  standing 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  Jew  and  Gentile,  Protestant 
and  Roman  Catholic,  Presbyterian  and  Methodist, 
Baptist  and  Unitarian,  all  of  them  actuated  by  a 
common  sentiment,  the  love  of  freedom.  At 
their  head  was  a  Central  Council,  composed  of 
the  Hon.  Patrick  A.  Collins,  Boston,  Mass.,  Presi- 
dent ;  Rev.  Lawrence  Walsh,  Waterbury,  Conn., 
Treasurer-;  Thomas  Flatley,  Esq.,  Boston,  Mass., 
Secretary, 


176  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

The  work  of  stirring  up  the  people  to  do  theif 
whole  duty  by  the  home  leaders  of  the  move- 
ment, received  a  fresh  impetus  in  October,  1881, 
when  the  cable  flashed  the  news  across  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  of  the  determination  of  William 
Ewart  Gladstone's  government  to  put  down  the 
Irish  National  League  by  force.  The  first  step 
in  that  direction  was  sufficient  of  Itself  to  set 
aflame  the  hearts  of  Irishmen  all  over  the  civil- 
ized world.  Mr.  Parnell,  the  President  of  the 
League,  was  arrested  on  the  13th  of  that  month, 
and  within  two  days  afterwards  Thomas  Sexton, 
John  Dillon,  J.  J.  O'Kelly,  William  O'Brien,  and 
others  were  imprisoned  as  "  suspects."  The 
Executive  of  the  League  now  felt  the  necessity  to 
take  some  strong  steps  to  thwart  the  Irish  land- 
lords, and  to  show  the  British  Government  by 
absolute  proofs  that  the  Irish  people  would  not 
tamely  submit  to  this  unjustifiable  incarceration  of 
their  representatives.  As  a  last  resource  the 
Irish  Executive  called  on  the  tenants  to  "pay  no 
rent."  They  did  so  in  the  following  document, 
which,  as  will  be  seen  by  its  date,  was  issued  on 
the  1 8th  of  October,  1881.  Many  enemies  of 
the  Home  Rule  movement,  in  America  and  else- 
where, in  their  attempts  to  justify  the  arrest  of 
Mr._  Parnell,  assert  that  "he  was  imprisoned 
because  he  issued  the  No-Rent  Manifesto."  The 
exact  converse  is  the  truth.  The  manifesto  was 
issued  because  the  leaders  of  the  national  organi- 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  I  77 

zation  were  deprived  of  their  liberty.  As  a  his' 
toric  interest  is  attached  to  the  document,  and,  as 
its  alleged  contents  have  been  the  cause  of,  at 
times,  bitter  contention,  I  append  it,  verbatim^  as 
it  was  issued  from  the  patriots*  prison : 

"  To  the  Irish  People, 

"  Fellow  Countrymen  :  The  hour  has  come  to 
test  whether  the  great  organization,  built  up 
during  years  of  patient  labor  and  sacrifice,  and 
consecrated  by  the  allegiance  of  the  whole  Irish 
race  the  world  over,  is  to  disappear  at  the  sum- 
mons of  a  brutal  tyranny.  The  crisis' with  which 
we  are  face  to  face  is  not  of  our  making.  It  has 
been  deliberately  forced  upon  the  country,  while 
the  Land  Act  is,  as  yet,  untested,  in  order  to  strike 
down  the  only  power  which  might  have  extorted 
any  solid  benefits  for  the  tenant-farmers  of  Ireland 
from  that  Act,  and  to  leave  them  once  more  help- 
lessly at  the  mercy  of  a  law  invented  to  save 
landlordism  and  administered  by  landlord  minions. 

"The  Executive  of  the  Irish  National  Land 
League,  acting  in  the  spirit  of  the  resolutions  of 
the  National  Convention — the  most  freely  elected 
body  ever  assembled  in  Ireland — was  advancing 
steadily  in  the  work  of  testing  how  far  the  admin- 
istration of  the  Land  Act  might  be  trusted  to 
eradicate  from  the  rents  of  the  Irish  tenant- 
farmers  the  entire  value  of  their  own  improve- 
ments, and  to  reduce  these  rents  to  such  a  figure 


j^g  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

as  should  forever  place  our  country  beyond  the 
peril  of  periodical  famine.  At  the  same  time  they 
took  measures  to  secure,  in  the  event  of  the  Land 
Act  proving  to  be  a  mere  paltry  mitigation  of  the 
horrors  of  landlordism  in  order  to  fasten  it  the 
more  securely  on  the  necks  of  the  people,  that 
the  tenant-farmers  should  not  be  delivered  blind- 
folded into  the  hands  of  hostile  law  courts,  but 
should  be  able  to  fall  back  upon  the  magnificent 
organization  which  was  crushing  landlordism  out 
of  existence  when  Mr.  Gladstone  stepped  in  to 
its  rescue.  In  either  event  the  Irish  tenant-far- 
mers would  have  been  in  a  position  to  exact 
the  uttermost  farthing  of  their  just  demand. 

"  It  was  this  attitude  of  perfect  self-command — - 
impregnable  while  there  remained  a  shadow  of 
respect  for  law,  and  supported  with  unparalleled 
enthusiasm  by  the  whole  Irish  race — that  moved 
the  rage  of  the  disappointed  English  Minister, 
Upon  the  monstrous  pretext  that  the  National 
Land  League  was  forcing  upon  the  Irish  tenant- 
farmers  an  organization  which  made  them  all- 
powerful,  and  was  keeping  them,  by  intimidation, 
from  embracing  an  Act  which  offered  them  noth- 
ing except  helplessness  and  uncertainty,  the 
English  Government  has  cast  to  the  winds  every 
shred  of  law  and  justice,  and  has  plunged  into  an 
open  reign  of  terror,  in  order  to  destroy  by  the 
foulest  means  an  organization  which  was  confess- 
edly too  strong  for  it  within  the  limits  of  its  own 
English  constitution. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  j  ^g 

"  Blow  after  blow  has  been  struck  at  the  Land 
League,  in  the  mere  wantonness  of  brute  force. 
In  the  face  of  provocation  which  has  turned  men's 
blood  to  flame,  the  Executive  of  the  Land  League 
adhered  calmly  and  steadily  to  the  course  traced 
out  for  them  by  the  National  Convention.  Test 
cases  of  a  varied  and  searching  character  were, 
with  great  labor,  put  in  train  for  adjudication  in 
the  Land  Courts.  Even  the  arrest  of  our  Presi- 
dent, Mr.  Charles  Stewart  Parnell,  and  the  excited 
state  ®f  popular  feeling  which  it  evoked,  did  not 
induce  the  executive  to  swerve  in  the  slightest 
from  that  course;  for  Mr.  ParnelFs  arrest  might 
have  been  accounted  for  by  motives  of  personal 
malice,  and  his  removal  did  not  altogether  derange 
the  machinery  for  the  preparation  of  the  test 
cases  which  he  has  been  at  much  pains  to  per- 
fect. But  the  events  which  have  since  occurred — 
the  seizure,  or  attempted  seizure,  of  almost  all  the 
members  of  the  executive  and  of  the  chief  officials 
of  the  League,  upon  wild  and  preposterous  pre- 
tences, and  the  violent  suppression  of  free  speech 
— put  it  beyond  any  possibility  of  doubt  that  the 
English  Government — unable  to  declare  the  Land 
League  an  illegal  association,  defeated  in  the 
attempt  to  break  its  unity,  and  afraid  to  abide  the 
result  of  test  cases,  watched  over  by  a  powerful 
popular  organization— has  deliberately  resolved 
to  destroy  the  whole  machinery  of  the  Central 
League,  with  a  view  to  rendering  an  cxperir 


igQ  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

mental  trial  of  the  Act  impossible,  and  forcing  it 
upon  the  Irish  tenant-farmers  on  the  Government's 
own  terms. 

"The  brutal  and  arbitrary  dispersion  of  the 
Central  Executive  has  so  far  succeeded  that  we 
are  obliged  to  announce  to  our  countrymen  that 
we  no  longer  possess  the  machinery  for  ade- 
quately presenting  the  test  cases  in  court  accord- 
ing to  the  policy  prescribed  by  the  National  Con- 
vention. Mr.  Gladstone  has,  by  a  series  of 
furious  and  wanton  acts  of  despotism,  driven  the 
Irish  farmers  to  choose  between  their  own  organ- 
ization and  the  mercy  of  his  lawyers — ^between 
the  power  which  has  reduced  landlordism  to 
almost  its  last  gasp  and  the  power  which  strives 
with  all  the  ferocity  of  despotism  to  restore  the 
detestable  ascendency  from  which  the  Land 
League  has  delivered  the  Irish  people. 

"One  constitutional  weapon  alone  now  remains 
in  the  hands  of  the  Irish  National  League.  It  is 
the  strongest,  the  swiftest,  the  most  irresistible  of 
all.  We  hesitated  to  advise  our  fellow-country- 
men to  employ  it  until  the  savage  lawlessness  of 
the  English  Government  provoked  a  crisis  in 
which  we  must  either  consent  to  see  the  Irish 
tenant-farmers  disarmed  of  their  organization  and 
laid  once  more  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  the  land- 
lords, and  every  murmur  of  Irish  public  opinion 
suppressed  with  an  armed  -hand,  or  appeal  to  our 
countrymen  to  at  once  resort  to  the  only  means 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  l8l 

now  left  in  their  hands  of  bringing  this  false  and 
brutal  Government  to  its  senses. 

"  Fellow-countrymen,  the  hour  to  try  your  souls 
and  redeem  your  pledges  has  arrived.  The 
Executive  of  the  National  Land  League,  forced 
to  abandon  the  policy  of  testing  the  Land  Act, 
feels  bound  to  advise  the  tenant-farmers  of  Ire- 
land from  this  forth  to  pay  no  rent  under  any  cir- 
cumstances to  their  landlords  until  the  Govern- 
ment relinquishes  the  existing  system  of  terrorism 
and  restores  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  peo- 
ple. Do  not  be  daunted  by  the  removal  of  your 
leaders.  Your  fathers  abolished  tithes  by  the 
same  method  without  any  leaders  at  all,  and  with 
scarcely  a  shadow  of  the  magnificent  organization 
that  covers  every  portion  of  Ireland  to-day. 

**  Do  not  suffer  yourselves  to  be  intimidated  by 
threats  of  military  violence.  It  is  as  lawful  to 
refuse  to  pay  rents  as  it  is  to  receive  them. 
Against  the  passive  resistance  of  an  entire  popu- 
lation, military  power  has  no  weapons.  Do  not 
be  wheedled  into  compromise  of  any  sort  by  the 
dread  of  eviction.  If  you  only  act  together  in  the 
spirit  to  which  in  the  last  two  years  you  have 
countless  times  solemnly  pledged  your  vows,  they 
can  no  more  evict  a  whole  nation  than  they  can 
imprison  them.  The  funds  of  the  National  Land 
League  will  be  poured  out  unstintedly  for  the 
support  of  all  who  may  endure  eviction  in  the 
course  of  the  struggle.     Our  exiled  brothers  in 


l82  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

America  may  be  relied  upon  to  contribute,  if 
necessary,  as  many  millions  of  money  as  they  have 
contributed  thousands,  to  starve  out  landlordism 
and  bring  English  tyranny  to  its  knees.  You 
have  only  to  show  that  you  are  not  unworthy  of 
their  boundless  sacrifices  in  your  cause.  No 
power  on  earth  except  fain t-hearte'dn ess  on  our 
own  part  can  defeat  you.  Landlordism  is  already 
staggering  under  the  blows  which  you  have  dealt 
it,  amidst  the  applause  of  the  world. 

"One  more  crowning  struggle  for  your  land, 
your  homes,  your  lives — a  struggle  in  which  you 
have  all  the  memories  of  your  race,  all  the  hopes 
of  your  children,  all  the  sacrifices  of  your  impris- 
oned brothers,  all  your  cravings  for  rent-enfran- 
chised land,  for  happy  homes  and  national  freedom, 
to  inspire  you — one  more  heroic  effort  to  destroy 
landlordism  at  the  very  source  and  fountain  of  its 
Existence — and  the  system  which  was,  and  is,  the 
curse  of  your  race  and  of  your  existence,  will 
have  disappeared  for  ever.  The  world  is  watch- 
ing to  see  whether  all  your  splendid  hopes  and 
noble  courage  will  crumble  away  at  the  first  threat 
of  a  cowardly  tyranny.  You  have  to  choose 
between  throwing  yourself  upon  the  mercy  of 
England  and  taking  your  stand  by  the  organiza- 
tion which  has  once  before  proved  too  strong  for 
English  despotism ;  you  have  to  choose  between 
all-powerful  unity  and  impotent  disorganization  ; 
between  the  land  for  the  landlords  and  the  land 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  jg^ 

for  the  people !  We  cannot  doubt  your  choice. 
Every  tenant-farmer  of  Ireland  is  to-day  the 
standard-bearer  of  the  flag  unfurled  at  Irishtown, 
and  can  bear  it  to  a  glorious  victory. 

"  Stand  together  in  the  face  of  the  brutal  and 
cowardly  enemies  of  your  race ;  pay  no  rents 
under  any  pretext ;  stand  passively,  firmly,  fear- 
lessly by  while  the  armies  of  England  may  be  en- 
gaged in  their  hopeless  struggle  against  a  spirit 
which  their  weapons  cannot  touch ;  act  for  your- 
selves if  you  are  deprived  of  the  counsejs  of  those 
who  have  shown  you  how  to  act ;  no  power  of 
legalized  violence  can  extort  one  penny  from 
your  purses  against  your  will ;  if  you  are  evicted, 
you  will  not  suffer ;  the  landlord  who  evicts  you 
will  be  a  ruined  pauper,  and  the  Government 
which  supports  him  with  its  bayonets  will  learn  in 
a  single  winter  how  powerless  is  armed  force 
against  the  will  of  a  united,  determined  and  self- 
reliant  nation. 

"Signed:  Charles  S.  Parnell,  President,  Kil- 
mainham  Jail ;  A.  J.  Kettle,  Honorary  Secretary, 
Kilmainham  Jail;  Michael  Davitt,  Honorary 
Secretary,  Porriand  Prison;  Thomas  Brennan, 
Honorary  Secretary,  Kilmainham  Jail;  John  Dil- 
lon, Head  Organizer,  Kilmainham  Jail;  Patrick 
Egan,  Treasurer,  Paris. 
,     ''\Uh  October,  1881."  . 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

PUSHING    ON    THE   WORK. 

DAILY  the  ranks  of  the  Land  Leaguers  re- 
ceived fresh  accessions,  and  the  recruits 
were  not  confined  either  to  what  has  often  in  Ire- 
land been  contemptuously  styled  "  the  lower  or- 
ders "  or  to  any  particular  sect.  The  farmer  and 
the  physician,  the  lawyer  and  the  mechanic,  the 
clergyman  and  the  shopkeeper,  the  "  retired  gen- 
tleman" and. the  clerk,  the  titled  owner  of  big  es- 
tates and  the  sturdy  laborer  joined  hands  in  the 
movement  that  now,  thanks  to  the  unceasing 
efforts  and  untiring  energy  of  Parnell,  Dillon, 
Davitt^  O'Brien,  O'Connor,  BIggar  and  the  other 
members  of  the  Irish  Parliamentary  Party,  prom- 
ised to  sweep  all  opposition  before  it,  like  a  whirl- 
wind. Meetings  were  held  in  every  townland 
night  after  night,  branches  of  the  League  were 
organized  everywhere,  and  the  women,  old  and 
young,  took  as  deep  and  as  active  an  interest  in 
building  up  and  increasing  the  strength  and  re- 
sources of  the  movement  as  the  men.  I  am  satis- 
fied that  in  many  case's  their  fiery  energy  and 
burning  eloquence  shamed  the  weak-kneed  and 
184 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  185 

the  lukewarm    into  vigorous   co-operation    with 
their  more  worthy  countrymen.     There  were  not 
wanting  humorous  incidents  to  enliven  the  cam- 
paign.     One    of    the    most   noteworthy   was  a 
"People's  Hunt,"  which  took  place  ori  January  7, 
1882,  near  Maryborough,  Queen's  County,   and 
was  established  under  the  high-sounding  name  of 
The  National  Hunting  Association.     Nearly  two 
hundred  ladies  and  gentlemen  on  horseback  par- 
ticipated in  the  "  Hunt,"  and  were  accompanied 
by  a  large  pack  of  dqgs,  which  bore  on  their  col- 
lars such  significant  names  as  "  Rack-rent,"  ^'  Re- 
volver,"   "  Buckshot,"   and  "  Dynamite  !  "      Five 
days  afterwards  the  Royal  Irish  Constabulary,  as 
the  police  in  Ireland  are  termed,  were  present  in 
force   at   the    Newcastle   West    Petty   Sessions, 
where  the  members  of  the  Drumcollogher  Ladies' 
Land  League  were  sentenced  to  one  month's  im- 
prisonment for  the  crime  of  daring  to  belong  to 
such  an  organization.     The  authorities  felt  that 
this  action  was   not   enough   to   mark  their  dis- 
pleasure at  the  temerity  of  the  people  in  holding 
such  a "  Hunt."     So,  two  weeks   later,  they  in- 
structed the  police  to  arrest  a  number  of  children, 
whose  ages  ranged  from  seven  to  ten  years  old, 
for  whistling  the   tune   of  "  Harvey   Duff,"  *   at 
Cappamore,  County  Limerick.     On  February  14, 
1882, 'they  went  still  further  and  "proclaimed" 

*"  Harvey  Duff"  was  a  satire  of  a  rather  harmless  character  directed 
against  the  police.  ^ 


18G  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

five   baronies   of    the  County   Roscommon   and 
twelve  baronies  of  the  County  Waterford.     These 
severities  so  weighed  down  the  spirits  and  damp- 
ened the  courage  of  Parnell's  followers  that  they 
felt  it  a  duty  that  they  owed  to  themselves  as  well 
as  to  the  authorities  to  give  some  notable  and 
public  expression  of  their  sentiments.     To  the 
number  therefore  of  over  two  thousand,  the  ten- 
ant   farmers  were  sent  as   representative  dele- 
gates  from  the   various    counties   in   Ireland  to 
Avondale,  Mr.  Parnell's  country-seat,  where  they 
performed  all  of  the  agricultural  work  that  was 
necessary.     That  was  on  the  i6th  of  February, 
1882,  and  on  the  25th  of  that  month  the  men  of 
Meath  elected  Michael  Davitt,  who  was  then  in 
prison,  to  succeed  the  lamented  A.  M.  Sullivan, 
who  had  resiofned  his  seat   in  Parliament.     On 
April  9th  Mr.   Parnell  was    released  from   Kil- 
mainham  jail  on  parole,  to  attend  the  funeral  of 
a  nephew  in  Paris.     He  returned  to  his  cell  on 
the  24th,  remaining  there   until  his  release  with 
Dillon   and  O'Kelly,  on  the  2d  of  May,   1882, 
two  days  after  which  Michael  Davitt  was  released 
from  Portland  prison.     It  was  about  this  time  that 
"  Buckshot  Forster  "  refused  the  Chief  Secretary- 
ship  of    Ireland,   and   was    succeeded   by  Lord 
Frederick  Cavendish,  who,  with  Thomas  Henry 
Burke,    the   Under-Secretary,  was    assassinated 
while  walking  towards  the  Vice-regal  Lodge,  in 
Phoenix  Park,  Dublin.     That  murderous  deed  was 


MICHAEL  D;4VITT. 


X83  '  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

one  of  the  deadliest  blows  that  was  dealt  to  the 
Irish  cause  for  many  years.  Again  the  evil  for- 
tune that  has  so  often  blighted  the  Irish  cause  on 
the  threshold  of  victory  intervened,  and  in  one  day 
the  hopes  of  Ireland  were  blasted,  and  the  cause  of 
Irish  liberty  was  thrown  back  for  years.  Lord 
Frederick  Cavendish  had  gone  over  to  Ireland  as 
the  new  Chief  Secretary,  and  as  the  bearer  of  the 
new  message  of  peace  to  the  Irish  people.  He 
was  a  man  of  amiable  temper,  and  of  high  purpose, 
and  well  fitted  in  every  way  to  be  the  niedium  of 
reconciliation.  On  the  very  day  of  his  arrival  in 
Dublin,  he  and  Mr.  Burke,  the  Under  Secretary, 
were  assassinated  in  the  Phoenix  Park. ,  This  was 
on  May  6th.  It  turned  out  afterwards  he  was 
unknown  to  those  who  killed  him,  and  that  his 
death  was  due  to  the  accidental  circumstance  of 
his  being  alone  with  Mr.  Burke.  The  tragedy 
created  terrible  excitement  and  anger  in  Eng- 
land. A  cry  for  vengeance  was  raised,  and  the 
Ministry  had  to  bow  before  the  storm,  and,  hav- 
ing dropped  coercion,  were  obliged  once  more  to 
introduce  it.  Mr.  Parnell  was  assaited  with  spe- 
cial bitterness ;  and  Mr.  Forster  was  once  more 
elevated  to  the  position  and  eminence  which  he 
had  forfeited.  In  a  remarkable  passage  of  his 
evidence  by  James  Carey,  a  man  who  played  a 
prominent  part  in  the  conspiracy,  and  afterwards 
betrayed  his  companions,  here  is  an  extract  from 
his  evidence  in  cross-examination  by  Mr.  Walsh ; 


CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL.  189 

Q.  When  you  became  a  member  of  the  Order 
of  Invincibles,  was  it  for  the  object  of  serving 
your  country  that  you  joined  ?     A.  Well,  yes. 

Q.  And  at  the  time  when  you  joined  with  the 
object  of  serving  your  country,  in  what  state  was 
Ireland  ?     A.  In-  a  very  bad  state. 

Q.  A  famine,  I  think,  was  just  passing  over 
her?     A.  Yes. 

Q.  The  Coercion  Bill  was  in  force,  and  the 
popular  leaders  were  in  prison  ?     A.  Yes. 

Q.  And  was  it  because  you  despaired  of  any 
constitutional  means  of  serving  Ireland  that  you 
joined  the  Society  of  Invincibles  ?  A.  I  believe 
so. 

However,  England  was  not  in  a  humor  to  listen, 
and  the  Crimes  Act  was  passed  in  the  House  of 
Commons  after  a  vain  resistance  by  the  Irish 
members.  This  act  enabled  juries  to  be  packed 
and  other  methods  to  be  adopted  by  which  in 
despotic  countries  prisoners  are  cajoled  or  ter- 
rorized into  giving  evidence  true  or  false.  A 
number  of  men  were  put  upon  their  trial  before 
juries  consisting  entirely  of  landlords  exasperated 
by  the  loss  of  power  and  by  the  crimes  committed. 
A  number  of  men  were  in  this  way  convicted  and 
were  hanged.  A  sickening  doubt  afterwards 
arose  as  to  whether  these  men  were  innocent  or 
guilty,  and  this  was  especially  the  case  with  re- 
gard to  a  man  named  Myles  Joyce.  His  case  was 
debated  over  and  over  again  in  the  House  of 


190  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Commons,  and  it  is  still  a  question  of,  doubt  as  to 
whether  he  was  condemned  justly.  A  man  named 
Bryan  Kilmartin  was  sent  to  penal  servitude  on 
a  charge  of  having  shot  a  man  with  intent  to 
murder.  The  judge  declared  emphatically  that 
the  man  was  guilty  beyond  all  doubt.  Attempt 
after  attempt  to  have  his  case  investigated  failed ; 
but  finally  the  matter  was  brought  before  the 
House  of  Commons.  It  was  proved  that  a  man 
who  had  gone  to  America  immediately  after  the 
crime,  and  who  had  on  his  death-bed  confessed  to 
the  offence,  was  the  real  culprit,  and  Bryan  Kil- 
martin, proved  innocent,  had  to  be  released 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

DENOUNCING   THE   PHCENIX   PARK   MURDER, 

JUSTICE  to  the  memory  of  Charles  Stewart 
Parnell  demands  that  his  biographer  place 
on  record  that  honorable  man's  hearty  detesta- 
tion of  the  murders  of  Lord  Cavendish  and  Mr. 
Burke,  and  his  sincere  and  eloquent  denunciation 
of  the  murderers.  While  men's  minds  were  still 
aflame  with  anger  over  the  dastardly  deed  and  many 
of  Ireland's  best  friends  in  America  and  the  British 
colonies  read  with  horror  its  foul  details,  Charles 
Stewart  Parnell,  John  Dillon,  and  Michael  Davitt 
issued  the  following  address  : 
"To  THE  People  of  Ireland: 

"  On  the  eve  of  what  seemed  a  bright  future 
for  our  country,  that  evil  destiny  which  has  ap- 
parently pursued  us  for  centuries,  has  struck  at 
our  hopes  another  blow  which  cannot  be  exagger- 
ated in  its  disastrous  consequences.  In  this  hour 
of  sorrowful  gloom  we  venture  to  give  expression 
to  our  profoundest  sympathy  with  the  people  of 
Ireland  in  the  calamity  that  has  befallen  our  cause 
through  this  horrible  deed,  and  with  those  who 
determined  at  the  last  hour,  that  a  policy  of  con- 

191 


192  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

ciliation  should  supplant  that  of  terrorism  and 
national  distrust.  We  earnestly  hope  that  the  at- 
titude and  action  of  the  Irish  people  will  show  to 
the  world  that  an  assassination  such  as  has 
startled  us  almost  to  the  abandonment  of  hope 
of  our  country's  future,  is  deeply  and  religiously 
abhorrent  to  their  every  feeling  and  instinct.  We 
appeal  to  you,  to  show  by  every  manner  of  ex- 
pression that,  amid  the  universal  feeling  of  horror 
which  the  assassination  has  excited,  no  people  feel 
so  deep  a  detestation  of  its  atrocity,  or  so  deep  a 
sympathy  with  those  whose  hearts  must  be  seared 
by  it,  as  the  nation  upon  whose  prosperity  and  re- 
viving hopes  it  may  entail  consequences  more 
ruinous  than  those  that  have  fallen  tS  the  lot  of 
unhappy  Ireland  during  the  present  generation. 
We  feel  that  no  act  that  has  ever  been  perpetrated 
in  our  country  during  the  exciting  struggles  of 
the  past  fifty  years  has  so  stained  the  name  of 
hospitable  Ireland  as  this  cowardly  and  unpro- 
voked assassination  of  a  friendly  stranger,  and 
that  until  the  murderers  of  Cavendish  and  Burke 
are  brought  to  justice  that  stain  will  sully  our 
country's  name." 

Usually  a  reticent  man  Mr.  Parnell  was  on  this 
occasion  outspoken  and  vehement.  His  whole 
soul  was  aroused.  To  a  number  of  friends  he 
said : 

"  I  am  horrified  more  than  I  can  express.  This 
is  one  of  the  most  atrocious  crimes  ever  conini'itted.' 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  193 

Its  effect  must  certainly  be  most  damaging  to  the 
interests  of  the  Irish  people.  I  have  always  found 
Lord  Frederick  Cavendish  a  most  amiable  gentle- 
man, painstaking  and  strictly  conscientious  in  the 
fulfilment  of  his  official  duties.  I  did  not  share 
the  disappointment  expressed  in  Liberal  Irish 
circles  regarding  his  appointment,  as  I  anticipated 
that  the  principal  reforms  during  the  present 
session,  such  as  the  amendment  of  the  Land  Act, 
would  be  under  Mr.  Gladstone's  personal  supervi- 
sion, and  I  believed  that  administrative  reforms 
would  be  somewhat  postponed.  I  cannot  conceive 
that  any  section  of  the  people  of  Ireland  could 
have  plotted  deliberately  against  the  life  of  Lord 
Frederick,  and  I  am  surprised  that  the  Dublin 
police,  who  had  been  able  to  protect  Mr.  Forster, 
should  apparently  not  have  taken  any  steps  to 
watch  over  his  successor  during  the  few  hours, 
of  his  official  life  In  Ireland.  There  seems  to  be 
an  unhappy  destiny  presiding  over  Ireland,  which 
always  comes  at  a  moment  when  there  seems  some 
chance  for  the  country,  to  destroy  the  hopes  of 
her  best  friends.  I  hope  the  people  of  Ireland 
will  take  immediate  and  practical  steps  to  express 
their  sympathy  with  Mr.  Gladstone  in  his  most 
painful  position." 

Mr.  Dillon  and  Mr.  Sexton  fully  concurred  with 
Mr.  Parnell  in  his  opinion  of  the  outrage,  and  Mr. 
Sexton,  to  an  Interviewer  on  the  subject,  said  : 

"  I  am  bewildered  and  horrified.    I  regard  Lord 


194  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELI,. 

Frederick  Cavendish  as  an  amiable  and  painstak- 
ing gentleman.  He  was  certainly  considered  a 
capable  administrator.  The  first  feeling  on  the 
appointment  of  Lord  Frederick  was  undoubtedly 
one  of  disappointment,  but  it  began  to  be  grad- 
ually understood  that  Mr.  Gladstone  sent  him  to 
Ireland  to  have  the  advantage  of  the  service  of 
one  with  whom  he  had  long  worked,  thereby 
enabling  him  to  apply  his  own  will  more  freely  to 
the  Irish  difficulties.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe 
that  there  was  the  slightest  personal  feeling  against 
Lord  Frederick  in  any  political  quarter  of  Ireland. 
I  cannot  help  surmising  that  he  must  have  been 
mistaken  by  the  murderers  for  some  one  else. 
Mr.  Burke  had  been  connected  with  the  castle  for 
many  years.  Public  feeling  from  time  to  time 
identified  him  with  many  harsh  measures,  but 
well-informed  persons  have  always  held  that  he 
confined  himself  vigorously  to  his  duties.  He  was 
rather  averse  than  otherwise  to  concerning  him- 
self with  political  matters.  He  was  very  litde 
known  to  the  Dublin  populace.  He  was  present 
unrecognized  at  a  great  political  meedng  in 
Phoenix  Park  last  summer.  He  belonged  to  a 
land-owning  family.  Many  people  have  for  a  long 
time  believed  him  to  be  the  real  governor  of  Ire- 
land. The  crime  is  the  more  inexplicable  when 
one  considers  the  good  temper  of  the  crowds  at 
the  rejoicing  over  the  release  of  the  suspects." 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  195 

Michael  Davitt  also  spoke  in  no  uncertain  tones 
of  the  crime.     He  said : 

"  No  language  I  can  command  can  express  the 
horror  with  which  I  regard  the  murders  or  my 
despair  at  their  consequences.  When  I  heard  of 
them  on  Saturday  night  I  could  not  credit  the 
news.  I  grieve  to  think  that  when  the  govern- 
ment had  just  run  a  risk  in  introducing  a  new 
policy — when  everything  seemed  bright  and  hope- 
ful, when  all  expected  the  outrages  to  cease — this 
terrible  event  should  dash  our  hopes.  I  wish  to 
God  that  I  had  never  left  Pordand.  The  crime 
was  without  motive.  It  is  not  only  the  most  fatal 
blow  that  has  ever  been  struck  at  the  Land 
League,  but  one  of  the  most  disastrous  blows 
which  has  been  sustained  by  the  national  cause 
during  the  last  century.  Its  occurrence  at  this 
particular  juncture  seems  like  a  terrible  destiny. 
My  only  hope  is  that  the  assassins  rnay  be  dis- 
covered and  punished  as  they  deserve.  It  is 
wonderful  how  the  outrage  could  occur  within  a 
few  hundred  yards  of  the  constabulary  depot." 

As  I  have  already  stated  this  tragedy  swept 
away  for  a  time  the  power  of  Mr.  Parnell  and  of 
Mr.  Gladstone  for  good  for  Ireland.  The  Kil- 
mainham  Treaty,  the  terms  of  which  the  great 
Irish  leader  dictated  from  his  cell  in  that  cele- 
brated prison,  had  brought  the  Gladstone  govern- 
ment to  its  knees  in  its  unreserved  and  frank 
acknowledgment    of    the    failure    of    Coefcion. 


196  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

This  confession  in  its  completeness  involved  the 
sacrifice  of  the  men  who  were  chiefly  responsible 
for  Coercion,  and  accordingly  "  Buckshot  Forster'^ 
and  Lord  Cowper  resigned  from  the  ministry. 
Coercion  was  renewed  and  carried  out  with  ex- 
traordinary severity  until  the  defeat  of  the  goy- 
ernment  on  the  8th  of  June,  1885,  when  Lord 
Salisbury  became  Prime  Minister,  and  Lord  Car- 
narvon, Viceroy  of  Ireland,  and  the  Tory  Party 
struck  an  alliance  with  Mr.  Parnell.  The  general 
election  of  1885  took  place,  and  then  came  the 
startling  announcement  that  Mr.  Gladstone  had 
become  a  Home  Ruler,  and  the  introduction  of 
the  Home  Rule  Bill.  The  defeat  of  the  bill  and 
the  defeat  of  the  liberals  at  the  polls  followed  in 
1886,  and  the  Tory  regime  of  the  past  five  years 
was  imposed  upon  Ireland.  The  share  that  Mr. 
Parnell  took  in  the  work  of  the  general  election 
is  so  well  known  that  there  is  no  need  to  recount 
it.  When  the  Coercion  Act  was  introduced  a 
thunderbolt  fell  on  the  political  world.  On  the 
1 8th  of  April,  1886,  a  vote  was  to  be  taken  in  the 
House  of  Commons  on  the  second  reading  of 
Mr.  Balfour's  Coercion  Bill.  It  was  not  by  an 
accident — as  we  now  know — but  by  set  purpose, 
that  on  that  very  day  the  Times  published  the  let- 
ter attributed  to  Mr.  Parnell.  The  letter  was  in 
these  words — 

5»  15.  1882. 
Dear  Sir — I  am  not  surprised  at  your  friend's 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  197 

anger,  but  he  and  you  should  know  that  to  de- 
nounce the  murders  was  the  only  course  open  to 
us.  To  do  that  promptly  was  plainly  our  best 
policy. 

Bnt  you  can  tell  him,  aiid  all  others  concerned, 
that  though  I  regret  the  accident  of  Lord  F. 
Cavendish's  death,  I  cannot  refuse  to  admit  that 
Burke  got  no  more  than  his  deserts. 

You  are  at  liberty  to  show  him  this,  and  others 
whom  you  can  trust  also;  but  let  not  my  address 
be  known.  He  can  write  to  House  of  Com- 
mons. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Chas.  S.  Parnell, 

The  London  Times  took  care  to  set  forth  this 
extraordinary  document  with  every  form  of  dis- 
play which  is  at  the  disposal  of  a  printing  office. 
The  letter  was  given  \v\  facsimile,  and  was  spread 
over  several  columns;  the  first  leading  article 
was  devoted  to  it,  and,  in  fact,  no  method  of  con- 
centrating public  opinion  upon  it  was  neglected. 
A  series  of  articles  were  published,  all  of  them 
directed  against  Mr.  Parnell  and  his  associations, 
under  the  starding  head-line  of  "  Parnellism  and 
Crime.*' 

Some  other  forged  letters  followed,  and  arising 
out  of  them  Mr.  F.  H.  O'Donnell,  ex-M.  P.  for 
Dungarvan,  brought  an  action  for  libel  against 
the  Times.     After  the  collapse  of  that  action  Mr. 


198  CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL. 

Parnell  demanded  a  Parliamentary  inquiry,  which 
was  refused  by  the  government,  wBo  ultimately, 
however,  appointed  a  special  commission,  con- 
sisting of  Sir  James  Hannen,  Mr.  Justice  Smith, 
and  Mr.  Justice  Day.  At  the  opening  of  that 
famous  investigation  there  was  a  memorable 
scene  presented.  The  enemies  of  Mr.  Parnell 
were  ranged  against  him  in  the  court,  and  looked 
assured  of  coming  triumph.  The  same  calm, 
inscrutable  aspect  characterized  the  Irish  leader. 
He  attended  day  by  day  at  the  court  until  the 
Pigott  forgeries  were  exposed,  and  on  April  30, 
1890,  he  entered  the  witness  box  and  went  through 
the  ordeal  of  several  days'  examination  and  cross- 
examination.  This  was  the  most  memorable  trial 
of  modern  times,  and  for  that  reason  I  give  in 
detail  its  most  striking  and  prominent  scenes  and 
incidents. 

13 


CHAPTER  XV. 

"PARNELL   AND    CRIME." 

T^HE  first  sitting  of  the  Special  Commission 
X  appointed  by  the  Special  Commission  Act, 
1888,  was  held  on  the  22d  of  October,  1888,  in 
No.  I  Probate  Court  of  the  Royal  Courts  of 
Justice  in  London. 

The  Special  Commission  Act,  which  was  passed 
during  the  first  part  of  the  present  Session,  is  as 
follows  : 

An  Act  to  constitute  a  Special  Commission  to 
inquire  into  the  charges  and  allegations  made 
against  certain  members  of  Parliament  and  other 
persons  by  the  defendants  in  the  recent  trial  of 
an  action  entitled  "  O'Donnell  versus  Walter  and 
another."     (13th  of  August,  1888.) 

Whereas  charges  and  allegations  have  been 
made  against  certain  members  of  Parliament  and 
other  persons  by  the  defendants  in  the  course  of 
the  proceedings  in  an  action  entitled  "  O  Donnell 
versus  Walter  and  another,"  and  it  is  expedient 
that  a  Special  Commission  should  be  appointed 
to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  those  charges  and 
allegations,  and  should  have  such  powers  as  may 

199 


200  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

be  necessary  for  the  effectual  conducting  of  the 
inquiry : 

Be  it,  therefore,  enacted  by  the  Queen's  most 
Excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal  and 
Commons,  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled, 
arid  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  as  follows : 

I. — (i)  The  three  persons  hereinafter  mentioned 
— namely,  the  Right  Honorable  Sir  James  Hannen, 
the  Honorable  Sir  John  Charles  Day,  and  the 
Honorable  Sir  Archibald  Levin  Smith,  are  hereby 
appointed  Commissioners  for  the  purposes  of 
this  Act,  and  are  in  this  Act  referred  to  as  the 
Commissioners. 

(2)  The  Commissioners  shall  inquire  into  and 
report  upon  the  charges  and  allegations  made 
ao^ainst  certain  members  of  Parliament  and  other 
persons  in  the  course  of  the  proceedings  in  an 
action  entitled  **  O'Donnell  versus  Walter  and 
another." 

2. — (i)  The  Commissioners  shall,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  the  inquiry  under  this  Act,  have  in  ad- 
dition to  the  special  powers  hereinafter  provided, 
all  such  powers,  rights  and  privileges  as  are 
vested  in  Her  Majesty's  High  Court  of  Justice, 
or  in  any  Judge  thereof,  of  the  occasion  of  any 
action  including  all  powers,  rights  and  privileges 
in  respect  to  the  following  matters : 

(i)  ^The  enforcing  the  attendance  of  witnesses 
and   examining    them   on    oath,   affirmation,   or 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  201 

promise  and  declaration  ;  and  (ii)  the  compelling 
the  production  of  documents  and  (Hi)  the  punish- 
ing persons  guilty  of  contempt  and  (iv)  the  issue 
of  a  commission  or  request  to  examine  witnesses 
abroad ;  and  a  summons  signed  by  one  or  more 
of  the  Commissioners  may  be  substituted  for,  and 
shall  be  equivalent  to,  any  form  of  process  capa- 
ble of  being  issued  in  any  action  for  enforcing 
the  attendance  of  witnesses  or  compelling  the 
production  of  documents. 

(2)  A  warrant  of  committal  to  prison  issued 
for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  the  powers  conferred 
by  this  section  shall  be  signed  by  one  or  more  of 
the  Commissioners,  and  shall  specify,  the  prison 
to  which  the  offender  is  to  be  committed. 

(3)  The  Commissioners  may,  if  they  think  fit, 
order  that  any  document  or  documents  in  the 
possession  of  any  party  appearing  at  the  inquiry 
shall  be  produced  for  the  inspection  of  any  other 
such  party. 

3.  If  any  person,  having  been  served  with  a 
summons  under  this  Act,  shall  fail  to  appear  ac- 
cording to  the  tenor  of  such  summons,  the  Com- 
missioners shall  have  power  to  issue  a  warrant 
for  the  arrest  of  such  persons. 

4.  If  any  person  summoned  to  attend  before 
the  said  Commissioners  who  shall  refuse,  neglect, 
or  fail  to  attend  in  pursuance  of  any  summons, 
shall,  notwithstanding  the  dissolution  of  the  Com- 
mission, be  liable  to  punishment  for  contempt  of 


202  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

the  High  Court  of  Justice,  on  the  motion  of  any 
person  who  has  appeared  at  the  inquiry  before 
such  Commissioners. 

5.  A  warrant  or  order  for  the  arrest,  detention, 
or  imprisonment  of  a  person  for  contempt  of  the 
Commissioners  shall,  notwithstanding  the  Special 
Commission  is  dissolved  or  otherwise  determined, 
be  and  remain  as  valid  and  effectual  in  all  respects 
as  if  the  Special  Commission  were  not  so  dis- 
solved or  otherwise  determined,  and  upon  such 
dissolution  or  determination  all  the  powers,  rights, 
and  privileges  of  the  Commissioners  with  respect 
to  such  warrant  or  order,  and  to  a  person  ar- 
rested, detained,  or  imprisoned,  or  to  be  arrested, 
detained,  or  imprisoned  by  virtue  thereof,  shall 
devolve  upon  and  be  exercised  by  the  Queen's 
Bench  Division  of  the  High  Court  of  Justice  or  a 
Judge  thereof;  and  such  contempt,  and  a  pro- 
ceeding with  respect  thereto,  shall  not  be  in  any 
wise  affected  by  such  dissolution  or  determina- 
tion of  the  Special  Commission. 

6.  The  persons  implicated  in  the  said  charges 
and  allegations,  the  party  to  the  said  action,  and 
any  person  authorized  by  the  Commissioners  may 
appear  at  the  inquiry,  and  any  person  so  appear- 
ing may  be  represented  by  counsel  or  solicitor 
practising  in  Great  Britain  or  Ireland.  Where 
it  shall  appear  to  the  Commissioners  that  any 
person  affected  by  any  of  the  said  charges  or 
allegations  is  at  any  time  during  the  holding  of 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  203 

the  said  inquiry  detained  or  imprisoned,  the  Com- 
missioners may  order  the  attendance  of  such 
persons  at  such  inquiry  in  such  manner,  for  such 
time,  and  subject  to  such  conditions  as  regards 
bail,  or  otherwise,  as  to  the  Commissioners  may 
seem  fit. 

7.  The  Commissioners  shall  have  power,  if  they 
think  fit,  to  make  reports  from  time  to  time. 

8.  Every  person  who,  on  examination  of  oath, 
affirmation,  or  promise  and  declaration  under  this 
Act,  wilfully  gives  false  evidence,  shall  be  liable 
to  the  penalties  for  perjury. 

9.  Any  person  examined  as  a  witness  under 
this  Act  before  the  Commissioners,  or  under  a 
commission  to  examine  witnesses  abroad,  may  be 
cross-examined  on  behalf  of  any  other  person 
appearing  before  the  Commissioners.  A  witness 
examined  under  this  Act  shall  not  be  excused 
from  answering  any  question  put  to  him  on  the 
ground  of  any  privilege,  or  on  the  ground  that 
the  answer  thereto  may  criminate  or  tend  to 
criminate  himself;  pirovided  that  no  evidence 
taken  under  this  Act  shall  be  admissible  against 
any  person  in  any  civil  or  criminal  proceeding 
except  in  case  of  a  witness  accused  of  having 
given  false  evidence  in  an  inquiry  under  this  Act, 
or  of  a  person  accused  of  having  procured,  or 
attempted  or  conspired  to  procure  the  giving  of 
such  evidence. 

10. — ^(i)  Every  person  examined  as  a  witness 


204  CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL. 

under  this  Act  who,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Com- 
missioners, makes  a  full  and  true  disclosure  touch- 
ing all  the  matters  In  respect  of  which  he  is  ex- 
amined, shall  be  entitled  to  receive  a  certificate 
signed  by  the  Commissioners  stating  that  the 
witness  has,  on  his  examination,  made  a  full  and 
true  disclosure  as  aforesaid. 

.  (2)  If  any  civil  or  criminal  proceeding  is  at 
any  time  thereafter  instituted  against  any  such 
witness  in  respect  of  any  matter  touching  which 
he  has  been  so  examined,  the  court  having  cog- 
nizance of  the  case  shall,  on  proof  of  the  certifi- 
cate, stay  the  proceeding,  and  may  in  its  dis- 
cretion award  to  the  witness  such  costs  as  he  may 
be  put  to  in  or  by  reason  of  the  proceeding  ;  pro- 
vided that  nothing  in  this  section  shall  be  deemed 
to  apply  in  the  case  of  proceedings  for  having 
given  false  evidence  at  an  inquiry  held  under  this 
Act,  or  of  having  procured,  or  attempted,  or  con- 
spired to  procure,  the  giving  of  such  evidence. 

1 1.  This  Act  may  be  cited  as  the  Special  Com- 
mission Agt,  1888. 

The  following  are  the  particulars  of  the  charges 
or  allegations  made  by  the  defendants  in  the  ac- 
tion of  "  O'Donnell  versus  Walter,"  delivered 
pursuant  to  the  order  of  the  Special  Commission, 
dated  the  1 7th  day  of  September,  1 888. 

THE    **  LONDON   TIMES  "    CHARGES. 

The  names  of    the   members  of    Parliament 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  205 

against  whom  the  charges  and  allegations  were 
made  are  set  out  in  the  schedule  hereto. 

The  members  of  Parliament  mentioned  in  the 
schedule  were  members  of  the  conspiracy  and  or- 
ganization hereinafter  described,  and  took  part  in 
the  work  and  operations  thereof  with  knowledge 
of  its  character,  objects  and  mode  of  action. 

From  and  including  the  year  1879  there  have 
existed  societies  known  as  the  Irish  Land  League, 
the  Irish  National  Land  League,  and  Labor  and 
Industrial  Union,  the  Ladies'  Land  League,  the 
Ladies'  Irish  Land  League  and  Labor  and  Indus- 
trial  Union,  the  National  League  and  the  affiliated 
societies  in  Great  Britain  and  America,  all  form- 
ing one  copnected  and  continuous  organization. 

The  ultimate  object  of  the  organization  was  to 
establish  the  absolute  independence  of  Ireland  as 
a  separate  nation.  With  a  view  to  effect  this  one 
of  the  immediate  objects  of  the  said  conspiracy  or 
organization  was  to  promote  an  agrarian  agita- 
tion against  the  payment  of  agricultural  rents, 
thereby  securing  the  co-operation  of  the  tenant 
farmers  of  Ireland,  and  at  the  same  time  the  in>- 
poverishment  and  ultimate  expulsion  from  the 
country  of  the  Irish  landlords,  who  were  styled 
the  "  English  Garrison.** 

The  mode  of  action  was  to  organize  a  system 
of  coercion  and  intimidation  in  Ireland,  which  was 
sustained  and  enforced  by  boycotting,  and  the 
commission  of  crimes  and  outrages. 


206  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELu. 

The  organization  was  actively  engaged  in  the 
following  matters : — 

1 .  The  promotion  of  and  inciting  to  the  com- 
mission of  crimes,  outrages,  boycotting,  and  in- 
timidation. 

2.  The  collection  and  providing  of  funds  to  be 
used,  or  which  it  was  known  was  used  for  the 
promotion  of  and  the  payment  of  persons  engaged 
in  the  commission  of  crimes,  outrages,  boycotting 
and  intimidation. 

3.  The  payment  of  persons  who  assisted  in, 
were  affected  by,  or  accidentally  or  otherwise  in- 
jured in  the  commission  of  such  crimes,  outrages, 
and  acts  of  boycotting  and  intimidation. 

4.  Holding  meetings  and  procuring  to  be  made 
speeches  Inciting  to  the  commission  of  crimes, 
outrages,  boycotting  and  intimidation.  Some  of 
the  meetings  referred  to  which  were  attended  by 
members  of  Parliament  with  the  approximate 
dates  and  place  of  meeting,  are  given  in  the 
schedule  hereto. 

5.  The  publication  and  dissemination  of  news- 
paper and  other  literature  inciting  to  and  approv- 
ing of  sedition  and  the  commission  of  crimes, 
outrages,  boycotting  and  intimidation,  particularly 
the  Irish  World,  the  Chicago  Citizen,  the  Boston 
Pilot,  the  Freeman! s  Journal,  United  Ireland,  The 
Irishman,  The  Nation,  the  Weekly  NewSy  Cork 
Daily  Herald,  the  Kerry  Sentinel,  the  Evening 
Telegraph,  the  Sligo  Champion, 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  207 

-  6.  Advocating  resistance  to  law  and  the  con- 
stituted authorities  and  impeding  the  detection 
and  punishment  of  crime. 

7.  Making  payments  to  or  for  persons  who 
were  guilty,  or  supposed  to  be  guilty,  of  the 
commission  of  crimes,  outrages  and  acts  of  boy- 
cotting and  intimidation  for  their  defence,  or  to 
enable  them  to  escape  from  justice,  and  for  the 
maintenance  of  such  persons  and  their  families. 

8.  It-is  charged  and  alleged  that  the  members 
of  Parliament  mentioned  in  the  schedule  ap- 
proved, and  by  their  acts  and  conduct  lead  people 
to  believe  that  they  approved  of  resistance  to  the 
law  and  the  commission  of  crimes,  outrages  and 
acts  of  boycotting  and  intimidation  when  com- 
mitted in  furtherance  of  the  objects  and  resolu- 
tions of  the  said  societies,  and  that  persons  who 
engaged  in  the  commission  of  such  crimes,  out- 
rages and  acts  would  receive  the  support  and 
protection  of  the  said  societies  and  of  their  or- 
ganization and  influence. 

The  acts  and  conduct  specially  referred  to  are 
as  follows : 

9.  They  attended  meetings  of  the  said  societies 
and  other  meetings  at  various  places  and  made 
speeches,  and  caused  and  procured  speeches  to 
be  made,  inciting  to  the  commission  of  crimes,  out- 
rages, boycotting  and  intimidation. 

10.  They  were  parties  to,  and  cognizant  of,  the 
payment  of  moneys  for  the  purpose  above  men- 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

tioned,  and  as  testimonials  or  rewards  to  persons 
who  had  been  convicted,  or  were  notoriously 
guilty  of  crimes  or  outrages,  or  to  their  families. 

1 1 .  With  knowledge  that  crimes,  outrages  and 
acts  of  boycotting  and  intimidation  had  followed 
the  delivery  of  speeches  at  the  meetings,  they  ex- 
pressed no  bond  fide  disapproval  or  public  con- 
demnation, but,  on  the  contrary,  continued  to  be 
leading  and  active  members  of  the  said  societies 
and  to  subscribe  to  their  funds. 

12.  With  such  knowledge  as  aforesaid  they 
continued  to  be  intimately  associated  with  the 
officers  of  the  same  societies  (many  of  whom  fled 
from  justice),  and  with  notorious  criminals  and 
the  agents  and  instruments  of  murder  and  con- 
spiracies, and  with  the  planners  and  paymasters 
of  outrage,  and  with  the  advocates  of  sedition, 
violence  and  the  use  of  dynamite. 

13.  They  and  the  said  societies,  with  such 
knowledge  as  aforesaid,  received  large  sums  of 
money  which  were  collected  in  America  and  else- 
where by  criminals  and  persons  who  were  known 
to  advocate  sedition,  assassination,  the  use  of 
dynamite  and  the  commission  of  crimes  and  out- 
rages. 

14.  When  on  certain  occasions  they  considered 
It  politic  to  denounce,  and  did  denounce,  certain 
crimes  in  public,  they  afterwards  made  communi- 
cations to  their  associates  and  others  with  the 
intention  of  leading  them  to   believe  that   such 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  209 

denunciation  was  not  sincere.  One  instance  of 
this,  of  which  the  said  defendants  propose  to  give 
evidence,  is  the  following  letters  : — 

Letter  from  C.  S.  Parnell,  dated  the  15th  of 
May,  1882. 

Letter  from  the  same,  the  i6th  of  June,  1882. 

Another  letter  from  the  same  of  the  same  date. 

The  following  are  persons  who  are  guilty  of 
crime  or  advocates  of  treason,  sedition,  assassina- 
tion, and  violence  with  whom  it  is  alleged  the  said 
members  of  Parliament  continued  to  associate  : — 

Frank  Byrne,  who  admitted  his  connection  with 
the  Phoenix  Park  murders,  and  who  was  supplied 
with  money  by  Mr.  C.  S.  Parnell,  which  enabled 
him  to  escape  to  America. 

Patrick  Egan,  the  treasurer  of  the  Land  League, 
who,  during  the  years  1881  and  1882,  organized 
and  procured  the  commission  of  crimes  and  out- 
rages in  various  parts  of  Ireland. 

Patrick  Ford,  the  editor  of  the  Irish  World, 
who  remitted  large  sums  of  moneys  to  the  said 
association,  and  for  the  purposes  aforesaid. 

James  Carey,  the  Phoenix  Park  informer. 

Captain  M'Cafferty,  implicated  in  Phoenix  Park 
murder. 

Tynan,  who  organized  the  Phoenix  Park 
murders. 

J.  Mullett,  convict. 

T.  Brennan,  who  was  secretary  of  the  Land 


210  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

League,  and  paid  some  of  the  perpetrators  of  the 
Phoenix  Park  and  other  murders  and  outrages. 

Edward  M'Caffery,  convict. 

Patrick  J.  Sheridan,  who  was  an  organizer  of 
the  Land  League,  who  organized  outrages  and 
acts  of  violence,  and  was  impHcated  in  the  Phoenix 
Park  murders. 

M.  J.  Boyton,  organizer  of  the  Land  League 
and  instigator  of  crime. 

J.  W.  Nally,  convicted  of  crime. 

John  Walsh,  of  Middlesbrough,  organizer  of 
the  Invincible  conspiracy  in  Ireland. 

Thos.  F.  Bourke,  who  was  convicted  of  high 
treason  on  the  24th  of  April,  1866. 

James  Stephens,  chief  of  the  Fenian  organiza- 
tion. 

J.  J.  Breslin,  Hospital  Superintendent  of  Rich- 
mond Gaol,  a  member  of  the  Irish  Republican 
Brotherhood,  who  aided  Stephens'  escape. 

Hamilton  Williams,  the  partner  of  Gallagher, 
the  convicted  dynamitard,  and  himself  a  dynami- 
tard. 

Alexander  Sullivan,  a  member  of  the  Clan-na- 
Gael. 

Transatlantic  (Mooney). 

Augustine  Ford. 

Ellen  Ford. 

Maria  Doherty. 

Father  Eugene  Sheehy. 

Dr.  William  Carrol. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  211 

P.  A.  Collins. 

C  O'M.  Condon,  sentenced  to  death  for  the 
murder  of  Sergeant  Brett. 

John  Devoy,  convicted  of  Fenianism,  and  a 
trustee  of  the  Skirmishing  Fund  raised  by  the 
Irish  World, 

O'Brien,  M'Carty,  and  Chambers,  convicted 
Fenians. 

John  Finerty,  dynamitard. 

John  Daly,  dynamitard. 

General  Millen,  dynamitard. 

W.  F.  Mackay-Lomasney,  a  convicted  Fenian. 

Stephen  Joseph  Meaney,  a  convicted  Fenian. 

James  Redpath,  advocate  of  crime. 

Jeremiah  O'Donovan  Rossa. 

John  O'Leary,  convicted  of  Fenianism. 

P.  J.  Gordon,  Francis  Tully,  Father  Egan, 
Father  Coen,  John  Roche,  of  Woodford,  P.  N. 
Fitzgerald,  Laurence  Egan,  J.  Riordan,  J.  Connel, 
Timothy  Horan,  Jeremiah  Riordan,  J.  Dowling, 
Patrick  Nally,  M.  M.  O'Sullivan,  M.  J.  Kelly, 
Thomas  Fitzpatrick,  Maurice  Murphy,  Martin 
Egan,  J.  M.  Wall,  A.  M.  Forrester,  J.  P.  Quirin, 
W.  F.  Moloney,  Pearson  Reddington,  members  of 
the  Land  League  and  implicated  in  crime. 

Anna  Parnell,  H.  Reynolds,  H.  Lynch,  Mrs. 
Moloney,  Clara  Stritch,  Mrs.  Moore,  members 
of  the  Ladies*  Land  League  who  paid  for  the 
commission  of  crime. 


CHARLES  §TEWART  PARNELL.  213 

Names  OF  Members  of  Parliament  against  whom 
IT  is  proposed  to  give  evidence  of  Charges 
AND  Allegations: —  ^ 

Thomas  Sexton,  Joseph  Gillis  Biggar,  Joseph 
Richard  Cox,  Jeremiah  Jordan,  James  Christopher 
Flynn,  William  O'Brien,  Dr.  Charles  K.  D.  Tanner, 
William  J.  Lane,  James  Gilhooly,  Joseph  E.  Kenny, 
John  Hooper,  Charles  Stewart  Parnell,  Maurice 
Healy,  James  Edward  O'Doherty,  Patrick  O'Hea, 
Arthur  O'Connor,  Michael  McCartan,  John  J. 
Clancy,  Sir  G.  H.  Grattan  Esmonde,  Bt.,  Timothy 
D.  Sullivan,  Timothy  Harrington,  William  H.  K. 
Redmond,  Henry  Campbell,  Patrick  J.  Foley, 
Matthew  Harris,  David  Sheehy,  John  Stack, 
Edward  Harrington,  Denis  Kilbride,  Jeremiah  D. 
Sheehan,  James  Leahy,  Patrick  A.  Chance,  Thomas 
Quinn,  Dr.  Joseph  Francis  Fox,  Michael  Conway, 
Luke  Patrick  Hayden,  William  Abraham,  John 
Finucane,  Francis  A.  O'Keefe,  Justin  McCarthy, 
Timothy  M.  Healy,  Joseph  Nolan,  Thomas  P. 
Gill,  Daniel  Crilly,  John  Deasy,  John  Dillon,  James 
F.  O'Brien,  Patrick  O'Brien,  Richard  Lalor,  James 
J.  O'  Kelly,  Andrew  Commins,  LL.D.,  Edmund 
Leamy,  ?.  J.  O'Brien,  Thomas  Mayne,  John 
O'Connor,  Matthew  J.  Kenny,  Jasper  D.  Pyne, 
Patrick  Joseph  Power,  James  Tuite,  Donal  Sulli- 
van, Thomas  Joseph  Condon,  John  E.  Redmond, 
John  Barry,  Garrett  Mich.  Byrne,  Thomas  P. 
O'Connor. 


214 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 


The  meetings  at  which  the  particular  Members 
of  Parliament  made  speeches : — 


Place. 


Ballycastle 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork..... 

Cork 

Ovens 

Kanturk . . 

Cork 

Clonakilty 

Innishannon 

Kealkil 

Macroom 

Durrus 

Coachford 

Middleton 

Drimoleague 

Molly       McCarthy's 

Bridge 

Bantry 

Castletown 

Middleton 

Boherbue 

Banteer 

Kitsboro 

Queenstown 

Blackstaffs  Cross 

Ballydehob 

Millstreet! 

Bally vourmey  .^ .....  ^ . 

Ballyvourmey 

Kealkd 

Youghal '. . . 

Youghal 

Inchiquin 

Inchiquin 

Ennis 

Ennis... 

Ennis  

Ennis 

Ennis 

Kilrush 


County. 


Cork. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Coric. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Cork. 
Clare . 
Clare . 
Clare . 
Clare. 
Clare. 
Clare- 


Date  of 

Meeting. 


Antrim 30  Nov.,  1880. 

Cork 5  Oct.,  1879... 

Cork 3  Oct.,  1880... 

Cork 3  Oct.,  1880... 

Cork 3  Oct.,  1880... 

Cork; 26  June,  1881... 

Cork... 2  Oct.,-  1881.. 

Cork 2  Oct.,  1881.. 

Cork IS  Feb.,  1885.. 

Cork 12  April,  1885. 

Cork 12  April,  1885.. 

Cork 29  June,  1885... 

Cork  22  July,  1885.. 

Cork 23  July,  1885.. 

Cork 6  Sept.,  1885.. 

Cork 18  Oct.,  1885   . 

Cork 8  Nov.,  1885. 

Cork 15  Nov.,  1885 

Cork 22  Nov.,  I 


Member. 


23  Jan.,  1887.. 
17  Sept.,  1880.. 

24  Oct.,  1880. . 
13  April,  1884.. 
16  Nov.,  1884.. 
20  Nov.,  1884.. 

6  Sept.,  1885.  . 
20  Sept.,  1885., 
4  Oct.,  1885... 

4  Oct.,  1885... 
15  Dec,  1885.. 
3  Jan.,  1886.. 
3  Jan.,  1886.... 
22  Aug.,  1886. 

7  Nov.,  1886. . 
7  Nov.,  1886.. 

5  Dec,  1886.. 

6  Dec,  1886... 
19  Sept.,  1880. 
19  Sept.,  1880. 
9  Nov.,  1885.. 
12  Nov.,  1882. 
12  Nov.,  1882. 
i6  Dec,  1882.. 


J.  G.  Biggar. 
C.  S.  Pamell. 
C.  S.  Pamell. 
A.  O'Connor. 
T.  D.  Sullivan. 
John  O'Connor. 
C.  S.  Pamell. 
T.  M.  Healy. 
J.  C.  Flyiin. 
W.  O'Brien. 
J.  Deasy. 
J.  Deasy. 
J.  Deasy. 
Dr.  Tanner. 
John  O'Connor. 
J.  Deasy. 
Dr.  Tanner. 
W.  J.  Lane. 
Dr.  Kenny. 

Dr.  Kenny. 
T.  M.  Healy. 
T.  M.  Healy. 
W.  H.  Redmond. 
John  O'Connor. 
John  O'Connon 
~  C.  Flynn.  . 
J.  Deasy. 
J.  Deasy. 
Dr.  Tanner. 
Dr.  Tanner. 
Dr.  Tanner. 
John  O'Connor. 
J.  Gilhooly. 
W.  J.  Lane. 
J.  C.  Flynn. 
Dr.  Tanner. 
W.  O'Brien. 
C.  S.  Parnell. 
T.  D.  Sullivan. 
T.  M.  Healy. 
—  Redmond. 
W.  J.  Kenny.     . 
W.  J.  Kenny. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 


215 


Place. 


Tulla... 

Newmarket  on  Kergus 

Belturbet 

Kingscourt 

Cardonagh  . .  * 

Donegal 

Letterkenny 

Ballyshannon 

Lucan 

Lucan 

Skerries , 

Clondalkin , 

Staggart 

Durdown 

St.  Margarets , 

Tempo , 

Loughrea , 

Riversville 

Killeenadeema 

Killeenadeema. 

Kilconnelly 

Ahascragh 

Bally  macward 

Loughrea 

Mountbellew 

Galway 

Killimore 

Clifden 

Carna 

Dunmore 

Kilkerrin 

Kilreech.. 

Galway 

Loughrea 

Loughrea 

Ballinasloe 

Athenry 

Athenry  ^ , . . . 

Gurteen 

Gurteen 

Loughrea 

Portumna 

Killimore 

Headford 

Eyre  Court 

Ballinasloe 

Galway 

Woodford 

Loughrea 

U 


County. 


Date  of 

Meeting. 


Clare 

Clare 

Clare 

Cavan  

Donegal 

Donegal 

Donegal 

Donegal 

Dublin 

Dublin 

Dublin 

Dublin 

Dublin 

Dublin 

Dublin 

Fermanagh. . . 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway.. . .  i . . 
Galway.... . . . 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway. 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway , 

Galway , 

Galway 

Galway , 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 

Galway 


24  May,  1885... 
23  Jan.,  1887.. 

29  Nov.,  1880.. 
6  Jan.,  1886.... 

25  March,  1881 

18  April,  1881.. 
13  Feb.,  1885... 

9  Nov.,  1880. . 
25  Jan.,  1885.. 

25  Jan.,  1885.. 
I  Feb.,  1885... 
22  Feb.,  1885... 
29  March,  1885 
12  April,  1885.. 
8  Nov.,  1885.. 
I  Jan.,  1881..,. 

6  Jan.,  1880.... 

19  Sept.,  1880., 

26  Sept.,  1880,. 
26  Sept.,  1880.. 
5  Dec,  1880.. . 

19  Dec,  1880... 
26  Dec,  1880.. 
17  March,  1881 

17  March,  1881 

20  March,  1881 

25  March,  1881 
3  April,  1881 . . 

7  April,  1 88 1.. 
22  May,  i88i.. 
12  May,  1885.  • 

19  May,  1885.. 

30  Aug.,  1885.. 

10  Sept.,  1885.. 
10  Sept.,  1885.. 

18  Oct.,  1885.. 

26  Oct.,  1885.. 
26  Oct.,  1885.. 
29  Nov.,  1885.. 

29  Nov.,  1885. 
16  Oct.,  1886. , 

26  Sept.,  1886.. 

21  Nov.,  1886.. 

27  June,  1880... 
27  Sept.,  1885.. 
27  Sept.,  1881.. 

30  Aug.,  1885... 

20  March,  1881 
6  March,  1884.. 


Member. 


W.  O'Brien. 
J.  R.  Cox. 
J.  G.  Biggar. 
Mat.  Harris. 
T.  M.  Healy. 
J.  Dillon. 
W.  O'Brien. 
J.  J.  O'KeUy. 
J.  J.  Clancy. 
W.  O'Brien. 
Daniel  Crilly. 
T.  Harrington. 
J.  J.  Clancy. 
T.  D.  Sullivan. 
J.  J.  Clancy. 
J.  J.  O'Kelly. 
Mat.  Hams. 
Mat.  Harris. 
T.  P.  O'Connor. 
Mat.  Harris. 
Mai.  Harris. 
Mat.  Harris. 
Mat.  Harris. 
John  Dillon. 
Mat.  Harris. 
Mat.  Harris. 
Mat.  Harris. 
Mat.  Harris. 
Mat.  Harris. 
Mat.  Harris. 
Daniel  Crilly. 
Mat.  Harris. 
J.  Redmond. 
A.  O'Connor. 
Mat.  Harris.    . 
Mat.  Harris. 
Mat.  Harris. 
J.  Dillon. 
D.  Sheehy. 
M.  Harris. 
J.  Dillon. 
Mat.  Harris. 
D.  Sheehy. 
Mat.  Harris. 
Mat.  Hams. 
T.  P.  O'Connor 

Redmond. 
J.  Dillon. 
M,  Harris. 


PATRICK  EGAN. 

President  of  the  Irish  National  League  of  America. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 


217 


Place. 


Beaufort 

Castleisland 

Castleisland 

Brosna 

Killorglin 

Killarney 

Killarney 

Killarney 

Listowel 

Listowel 

Killarney 

Tralee 

Dingle 

Killorglin 

Kenmare 

Knocknagjoshill 

Kiltoom -. 

French  Park 

Ballinagare. ..  .^ 

Boyle. 

Roscommon 

Athlone 

Boyle 

Strokestown 

Strokestown 

Strokestown 

Breedogne 

Mount  Irvine 

Pomeroy   

Gortin 

Gortin 

Carrick-on-Suir 

Templemore 

ifblyford 

Ormond  Stile 

Carrick-on-Suir 

Bansha 

Bansha 

Fethard.... 

Holycross 

Holycross 

Newport 

Cahir 

Cahir * 

Balljngarry . ...«...«. 

Roscrea 

Enniscorthy 

Rosemount 

^HosQmount 


County. 


Date  o^ 

Meeting, 


Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry ; 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry. . .~ 

Roscommon . . 

Roscommon.. . 

Roscommon... 

Roscommon... 

Roscommon,.... 

Roscommon,... 

Roscommon,.. 

Roscommon.. , 

Roscommon... 

Roscommon.. . 

Roscommon... 

Sligo 

Tyrone 

Tyrone 

Tyrone 

Tipperary.... 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Wexford 

Wexford 

Wexford 


1880. 

1880. 

1885. 
,  1885. 
.  i88«;. 


16  May,  1880. 
10  Oct.,  1880. 
10  Oct., 

24  Oct., 
31  May, 
30  Aug. 
30  Aug. 
30  Aug.,  1885... 
18  Oct.,  1885.. 

18  Oct.,  1885.. 
15  May,  1881.. 
6  March,  1881.. 
20  Feb.,  1881... 

4  March,  1881., 

20  Sept.,  1885., 
6  Jan.,  1886.... 

17  Oct.,  1880. . 

19  June,  1881... 

18  Sept.,  1881.. 
2P  Jan.,  1884. . 

17  Aug.,  1884... 
5.  Oct.,  1884.... 

21  Dec,  1884... 
28  Dec,  1884... 

25  Oct.,  1885.. 

25  Oct.,  1885. . 
30  Aug.,  1885... 
6  June,  1880.. . 
10  Dec,  1880... 
6  April,  1881.. 

6  April,  i88i.. 

7  Sept.,  1880. . 

10  Oct.,  1880. . 
17  Oct.,  1880. . 

11  April,  1 88 1.. 

7  Sept.,  1884. , 

8  Feb.,  1885... 
8  Feb.,  1885... 

12  April,  1885.. 

12  April,  1885.. 

5  July,  1885.... 
30  Aug.,  1885.. 

20  Sept.,  1885.. 
20  Sept.,  1885.. 
4  Oct.,  1885.... 
II  Oct.,  1885.. 

26  Oct.,  1879, . 

13  Sept.,  i83S" 
13  Sept.,  I3$S., 


Member. 


C.  S.  Parnell. 
A.  O'Connor. 
J.  G.  Biggar. 
T.  Harrington. 
E.  Harrington. 
J.  D.  Sheehan. 
W.  O'Brien. 
T.  M.  Healy. 
W.  O'Brien. 
T.  Harrington. 
T.  Harrington, 
T.  Harrington, 
T.  Harrington. 
T.  Harrington, 
E.  Harrington. 
E.  Harrington, 
M.  Harris. 

J.  R.  Cox. 
Dr.  Commins. 
W.  O'Brien. 
W.  O'Brien. 
W.  Redmond. 
W.  Redmond. 
J,  J.  O'Kelly. 
J.  G.  Biggar.' 
J.  O'Kelly. 
J.  J,  O'Kelly. 
Mat.  Harris. 
John  Dillon. 
J.  R.  Cox. 
T.  Sexton. 
Dr.  Kenny. 
J.  Dillon. 
J.  Dillon. 
J.  Dillon. 
W.  O'Brien. 
John  O'Connor 
W.  O'Brien. 
T.  Mayne. 
John  O'Connor 

D.  Sheehy. 
J.  O'Connor. 
J.  O'Connor. 
T.  Mayne./ 
T.  Mayne. 
T.  Mayne.  V 
W.  Redmond 
W.  Redmond, 
J.  G.  Biggar.J 


218 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 


Place. 


Wexford. 

Wexford 

New  Ross 

Killiriick 

Killinick 

New  Ross , 

Cushenstown. . . . 
Cushenstown . . . , 
Newtownbarry... 

Taghmon 

Gorey 

Gorey 

Knocknagoshill . 
Knocknagoshill  . 
Knocknagoshill . 
Newton  Sandes. 
Clonmacnoise . . . 
Phillipstown  ... 

Edinderry 

Kildare 

Athy 

Kildare 

Nurney 

Kilkenny 

Clough 

Ballyragget 

Mullinavat 

Shanagolden  . . . 

Murroe 

Abbeyfeale 

Killinallfeck  . . . . 

Newcastle 

Cappermore .... 

Longford 

Longford 

Edgeworthstown 

Longford 

Longford 

Lanesboro 

Dundalk 

Navan ....  ...„ 

Broomfield 

Irisbtown 

Cong 7... 

Ballyhlunis. . .  •  • 
Castlebar*... ,., 

Castiebar .>, 

Knockaroo . . .  • , 
Woolfhill 


County. 


Wexford 

Wexford 

Wexford 

Wexford 

Wexford 

Wexford 

Wexford 

Wexford 

Wexford 

Wexford ...... 

Wexford 

Wexford 

Kerry 

Kerry , 

Kerry 

Kerry , 

King's  County. 
King's  County. 
King's  County.. 
Kildare . . 
Kildare.., 
Kildare.. 
Kildare.. 
Kilkenny , 
Kilkenny , 
Kilkenny . 

Kilkenny 

Limerick 

Limerick 

Limerick .... 

Limerick 

Limerick 

Limerick 

Longford .. . . 
Longford .. . . 
Longford .... 
Longford .. . . 
Longford... . 
Longford .... 

Louth 

Meath 

Monaghan. . . 

Mayo 

Mayo 

Mayo 

Mayo 

Mayo. 

Queen's  County 
Queen's  County 


Date  of 

Meeting. 


i88] 


9  Oct., 

9  Oct.,  I05I  — 

26  Sept.,  i88o.. 
i8  Sept.,  i88i.. 
i8  Sept.,  i88i.. 

22  June,  1884. . 
31  Aug.,  1884.. 
31  Aug.,  1884.. 

1  Feb.,  1885... 

24  May,  1885.. 

23  Aug.,  1885.. 

23  Aug.,  1885.. 
6  Jan.,  1886.... 
6  Jan.,  1886.... 
6  Jan.,  1886.  ... 

25  Oct.,  1886. . 
5  Sept.,  1880. . 
18  Oct.,  1885.. 

10  Jan.,  1880.  . 
15  Aug.,  1880... 
10  Oct.,  1880.  . 

24  April,  1 88 1.. 
15  Feb.,  1885... 

2  Oct.,  1880... 

3  April,  1881... 
9  Oct.,  1881.  .. 
14  April,  1884.. 

,  5  June,  1881... 

,  31  July,  1881.. 

8  March,  1885. 

April,  1885.. 

.  May,  1885.. 

Sept.,  1885.. 

7  Oct.,  1880.  . 

18  March,  1881 

27  March,  1881 
27  March,  i88» 


__  Oct.,  1879* 

9  Aug.,  1885... 

2  May,  1880.. . 
11  July,  1880. . 

10  Oct.,  1880. . 

3  Nov.,  1885.. 
3  Nov.,  1885.. 
22  Feb.,  1880... 
28  Sept.,  1884.. 


Member. 


C.  S.  Parnell. 
J.  O'Kelly. 
C.  S.  Parnell. 
Redmond. 
G.  M.  Byrne. 
J.  Redmond. 
E.  Leamy. 
W.  O'Brien. 
W.  Redmond. 
W.  Redmond. 
W.  Redmond. 
W.  O'Brien. 
E.  Harrington. 
J.  D.  Sheehan. 
J.  Stack. 
J.  Dillon. 
M.  Harris. 
James  Leahy. 
Dr.  Fox. 
John  Dillon. 
James  Leahy. 
John  Dillon. 
W.  H.  Redmond. 
C.  S.  Parnell. 
John  Dillon. 
A.  O'Connor. 
P.  J.  Power. 
J.  R.  Cox. 
W.  Abraham. 
E.  Harrington. 
T.  Harrington. 
W.  Redmond. 
W.  O'Brien. 
C.  S.  Parnell. 
Justin  M'Carthy. 
Mat.  Harris. 
T.  M.  Healy. 
J.  M'Carthy. 
W.  Redmond. 
W.  Redmond. 
C.  S.  Parnell. 
W.  Redmond. 
C.  S.  Parnell. 
Mat.  Harris. 
Mat.  Harris. 
John  Dillon. 
C.  S.  Parnell. 
Richard  Lalor. 
A.  O'Connor. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 


219 


Place. 


Maryborough 

Maryborough 

Maryborough 

Ballickmoyler 

Ballickmoyler 

Mayo 

French  Park 

Waterford 

Lismore 

Portlaw 

Kilrossenly 

Bray 

Ballinglass 

Kilbrennan 

Ballymore 

Kilrush 

Kilrush 

Bandon 

Carrigrohane 

Carrigrohane 

Carrigrohane 

Shanbally 

Ballinadee 

Kanturk 

Kanturk 

Carrigadrohid 

Farnanes 

Farnanes 

Newry 

Dromore 

Killesher 

Killesher 

Loughrea 

Abbey  (Woodford),... 

Milltown 

Milltown 

Mohill 

Mohill 

Longford 

Longford 

Edgeworlhstown 

Edgeworthstown 

Ballyhaunis 

Kells 

Kells 

Mountmellick 

Castlerea 

Boyle 

Athlone , 


County. 


Queen's  County 
Queen's  County 
Queen's  County 
Queen's  County 
Queen's  County 
Queen's  County 

Roscommon 

Waterford 

Waterford 

Waterford 

Waterford 

Wicklow 

Wicklow 

Westmeath .... 
Westmeath .... 

Clare 

Clare 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork.. 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Down 

Down .... 

Fermanagh . , . , 
Fermanagh .... 

Gal  way 

Gal  way , 

Galway 

Galway 

Leitrim 

Leitrim 

Longford 

Longford 

Longford 

Longford 

Mayo 

Meath 

Meath 

Queen's  County 
Roscommon... . 
Roscommon.. . . 
Roscommon... , 


Date  of 

Meeting. 


5  Oct.,  1884... 
5  Oct.,  1884... 
5  Oct.,  1884... 
5  April,  1885.. 

5  April,  1885. , 

20  Sept.,  1885. 
I  Aug.,  1880. 
18  Dec,  1882.. 

24  May,  1884., 
13  Sept.,  1885. 

6  Dec,  1885.. 
31  Dec,  1882.. 

21  Oct.,  1883. 
10  Oct.,  1880. 
8May,  1881... 
29  May,  1887. , 

29  May,  1887., 
18  Sept.,  1887. 
18  Sept.,  1887. 
18  Sept.,  1887. 
18.  Sept.,  1887. 
23  Oct.,  1887., 

30  Oct.,  1887. 
30  Oct.,  1887. 
30  Oct.,  1887. 
6  Nov.,  1887. 
16  Nov.,  1887. 
16  Nov.,  1887. 

25  Sept.,  1887. 
Nov.,  1887., 

27  Oct.,  1887.. 
27  Oct.,  1887.. 
18  Oct.,  1887.. 
21  Oct.,  1887., 
13.  Nov.,  1887. 
3  Nov.,  1887. 
16  Oct.,  1887., 
1 6  Oct.,  1887., 
9  Oct.,  1887.., 
9  Oct.,  1887.. 
20  Nov.,  1887. 
20  Nov.,  1887. 
30  Sept.,  1887. 
4  Dec,  1887.. 
4  Dec,  1887.. 
18  Sept.,  1887. 
29  Sept.,  1887. 
I  Oct.,  1887.. 
6  Nov.,  1887. . 


Member. 


A.  O'Connor. 
J.  Deasy. 
D.  Kilbride.       - 
W.  Redmond. 
A.  O'Connor. 

D.  Crilly. 
M.  Harris. 

J.  G.  Biggar. 
T.  M.  Healy. 

E.  Leamy. 
G.  M.  Byrne. 
R.  Lalor. 

J.  J.  O'Kelly. 
T.  D.  Sullivan. 
T.  Harrington. 
D.  Sheehy. 
J.  R.  Cox. 
J,  Hooper. 
J.  Deasy. 
Dr.  Tanner. 
O'Hea. 
J.  Hooper. 
J.  Hooper. 
J.  C.  Flynn. 
W.  O'Brien. 
Dr.  Tanner. 
J.  C..  Flynn. 
J.  Gilhooly. 
M»  M'Cf^rtan. 
W.  K.  Redmond. 
W.  K.  Redmond. 
J.  Jprdan. 
D.  Sheehy. 

D.  Sheehy. 

W.  K,  Redmond. 
L.  P.  Hayden. 
M.  Conway. 
L.  P.  Hayden. 
T.  M.  Healy. 
L.  P.  Hayden. 

E.  Harrington. 
T.  M.  Healy. 

J.  F.  X.  O'Brien. 
P.  O'Brien. 
W.  K.  Redmond. 
—  M'Ponald. 
J.  R.  Cox. 
J.  R.  Cpx. 
D.  Sullivan. 


220 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 


Place. 


Athlone 

Clonmel 

Clonmel 

Tallow 

Tallow 

Tallow , 

Tallow , 

Tang 

Tang 

Arklow 

Kilfenora 

Kilfenora 

Kilfenora 

Ennis 

Cork , 

Carrigaline.. . . , 
Coolderrihy. . . . 

Bantry» 

Bantry 

Ballyrushin  ... 
Mitchelstown . . 
Mitchelstown . . 
Mitchelstown . . 
Mitchelstown . . 
Mitchelstown . . 

Meelin 

Queenstown, .. 
Queenstown... 

Goleen 

Goleen 

Letterkenny . . . , 
Caroudough. . . 

Loughrea 

Abbeyfeale.. .,, 

Collon , 

Drogheda 

Drogheda 

Carrickmacross. 
Claremorris  . . . 
Ballincostello . . 

Ballinrobe 

Newport 

Newport 

Lewisburg . . . . , 
Luggacurren. . . 

Hillstreet 

Boyle.. 

Ballina 

Ballieborough  . 


County. 


Date  of 

Meeting. 


Roscommon.. . . 

Tipperary 

Tipperary 

Waterford 

Waterford 

Waterford 

Waterford 

Westmeath .... 
Westmeath .... 

Wicklow 

Clare 

Clare 

Clare 

Clare 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Donegal 

Donegal 

Galway 

Limerick 

Louth 

Louth 

Louth 

Monaghan 

Mayo 

Mayo 

Mayo 

Mayo 

Mayo 

Mayo ......... 

Queen's  County 
Koscommon. . . 
Roscommon. . . 

Tipperary , 

Cavan , 


6  Nov.,  1887.. 
6  Nov.,  1887.. 
6  Nov.,  1887.. 
25  Sept.,  1887.. 
25  Sept.,  1887.. 
25  Sept.,  1887.. 
25  Sept.,  1887.. 
2  Oct.,  1887.. 

2  Oct.,  1887... 

24  Sept.,  1887. 
15  Dec,  1886... 
15  Dec,  1886.. 

4  Dec,  1887.., 

3  Sept.,  1887., 
21  March,  1880 

9  Jan.,  1887.. 

25  Jan.,  1887 
29  May,  1887. . 
29  May,  1887. 
12  June,  1887. 

10  July,  1887. . 
10  July,  1887. . 

10  July,  1887. . 
9  Aug.,  1887... 

11  Aug.,-  1887.., 
14  Aug.,  1887... 
6  Sept.,  1887. . 

6  Sept.,  1887.. 
II  Sept.,  1887.. 

11  Sept.,  1887.. 

4  Sept.,  1887.. 

12  Sept.,  1887.. 

7  July,  1887.... 
9  June,  1887... 
29  May,  1887.. 
17  July,  1887.. 
17  July,  1887.. 
17  April,  1887.. 
19  Jan.,  1887.. 
31  Jan.,  1887.. 
21  March,  1887 

5  June,  1887... 

5  June,  1887... 
19  June, 1887.. 
24  July,  1887.. 
19  Jan.,  1887. . 
28  Aug.,  1887... 
21  June,  1887.. 
2iif  Oct.,  1880. . 


Member. 


T.  D.  Sullivan. 
D.  Sheehy. 
T.  Mayne. 
J.  D.  Pyne. 
J.  Deasy. 
T.  M.  Healy. 
P.  J.  Power. 
J.  Tuite. 
D.  Sullivan. 
W.  K.  Redmond. 

—  Kenny. 
J.  Jordan. 

—  Flynn,  M.  P. 
J.  Dillon. 

J.  G.  Biggar. 
W.  J.  Lane. 
Dr.  Tanner. 
J.  Deasy. 
J.  Gilhooly. 
J.  C.  Flynn. 
W.  O'Brien. 
J.  C.  Flynn. 
T.  Condon. 
W.  O'Brien. 
W.  O'Brien. 
J.  C.  Flynn. 
P.  O'Hea. 
W.  J.  Lane. 
J.  Deasy. 
J.  Gilhooly. 
A.  O'Connor. 
J.  Doherty. 
D.  Sheehy. 
D.  Sheehy. 
D.  Crilly. 
W.  O'Brien. 
W.  K.  Redmond. 
D.  Sheehy. 
J.  E.  Redmond. 
J.  Deasy. 
D.  Crilly. 
D.  Crilly. 
J.  Deasy. 
J.  Deasy. 
W.  O'Brien. 
J.  R.  Cox. 
J.  J.  O'KeHy. 
D.  Sheehy. 
J.  G.  Biggar. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 


221 


Place. 


Bawnboy  . . . . , 

Bantry 

Millstreet 

Millstreet. . .. , 
Dublin  ...... 

Dublin 

Kyhbeg 

Portumna .... 
Woodford. . . . 

Gurteen 

Aihy 

Tullyallen.. .. 
Castleblayney , 
Kelly  stown... 

Kiltoom 

Boyle 

BfTrisokane . . 
Finea  


Gorey. 


Dungarvan , 
Dungarvan , 
Dungarvan , 


County. 


Date  of 

Meeting. 


Cavan  

Cork 

Cork 

Cork 

Dublin 

Dublin 

Galway 

Galvvay 

Galway 

Galway , 

Kildaie 

Louth 

Monaghan  .... 

Meath. 

Roscommon . . . 
Roscommon .. . 
Tipperary. 
Westmeath  and 

Cavan . . 
Wexford . . 


Waterford . 
Water  ford. 
Waterford. 


30  Oct.,  1880. . 
17  Oct.,  1880. . 
IS  Dec,  1885.. 
15  Aug.,  1886. 

22  Nov.,  1883. 

23  Nov.,  1883. 

21  Nov.,  1886. 

5  Nov.,  1885. 

7  Oct.,  1886.. 
:o  Oct.,  1886. . 
ID  Oct.,  1886.. 
8  April,  1888. . 
30  Nov.,  1886. 

22  April,  1888. 
17  Oct.,  1880. , 
20  Jan.,  1884. . 
27  Feb.,  i88i.. 

4  Nov.,  1880. 

23  Aug.,  1885. 

5  Oct.,  1881., 
5  Oct.,  1881.. 
S  Oct..  188 1.. 


Member. 


J.  G.  Biggar. 
T.  M.  Healy. 
Dr.  Tanner. 
Dr.  Tanner. 
T.  Sexton. 

C.  S.  Parnell. 

D.  Sheehy. 
M.  Harris. 
J.  Dillon. 
W.  O'Brien. 
R.  Lalor. 

J.  Dillon. 

W.  K.  Redmond. 

J.  Dillon. 

M.  Harris. 

W.  O'Brien. 

J.  Dillon. 

J.  G.  Biggar. 
W.  H.  K.  Red- 
mond. 
T.  M.  Healy. 
J.  Leathy. 
C.  Parnell. 


CHAPTER    XVL 

OPENING  THE   PROCEEDINGS  IN  COURT. 

IN  View  of  the  numerous  applications  for  ad- 
mission that  had  been  received,  the  idea  had 
been  entertained  at  one  time  of  fitting  up  a  part  of 
the  great  hall  of  the  Royal  Courts  of  Justice  for 
the  purposes  of  the  inquiry,  but  in  consequence 
of  the  great  difficulties  and  inconvenience  that  had 
to  be  met  the  proposal  was  not  carried  out,  and 
it  was  decided  that  the  inquiry  should  be  con- 
ducted in  Sir  James  Hannen*s  Court. 

The  body  of  the  court  was  reserved  for  the 
parties  concerned,  their  counsel  and  solicitors, 
and  the  representatives  of  the  Press.  A  new 
and  strong  temporary  gallery  had  been  con- 
structed in  front  of  the  permanent  one,  and  two 
small  side  galleries  had  been  placed  over  the 
corridors  which  form  the  entrances  of  the  court. 
Each  gallery  had  two  rows  of  benches,  giving 
room  for  sixty  people,  and  the  seats  in  them  were 
reserved  mainly  for  members  of  Parliament  who 
were  direcdy  interested  in  the  case.  A  new  wit- 
ness box  had  been  provided  on  a  lower  level  than 
the  old  one,  and  projecting  almost  into  the  centre 

(222) 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  223 

of  the  court.  Outside  the  court  doors  strong 
barriers  had  been  erected.  As  on  the  former 
occasions,  no  person  was  admitted  into  the  court 
without  a  ticket.  The  arrangements  made  by 
Mr.  H.  Cunynghame,  Secretary  to  the  Com- 
mission, were  adequate  and  satisfactory. 

Shortly  after  lo  o'clock  those  holding  tickets 
began  to  arrive,  and  long  before  1 1  o'clock,  the 
hour  fixed  for  the  commencement  of  the  sitting, 
all  the  allocated  seats  were  occupied.  Mr. 
Parnell  and  many  other  Irish  Home  Rule  mem- 
bers were  present. 

The  counsel  representing  The  Times  were  the 
Attorney-General  (Sir  R.  Webster,  Q.  C),  Sir  H. 
James,  Q.  C,  Mr.  Murphy,  Q.  C,  and  Mr.  W. 
Graham,  of  the  English  Bar,  and  Mr.  Atkinson, 
Q.  C,  and  Mr.  Roman,  of  the  Irish  Bar. 

Mr.  Parnell  was  represented  by  Sir  f).  Russell, 
Q.  C,  and  Mr.  Asquith  ;  and  the  other  members 
of  Parliament  against  whom  charges  and  allega- 
tions have  been  brought  by  Mr.  R.  T.  Reid,  Q. 
C,  Mr.  F.  Lockwood,  Q.  C,  Mr.  Lionel  Hart, 
Mr.  A.  O'Connor,  and  Mr.  A.  Russell,  of  the 
English  Bar,  and  Mr.  T.  Harrington,  of  the  Irish 
Bar. 

The  Commissioners  having  taken  their  seats 
upon  the  Bench, 

Sir  C.  Russell  said,— My  Lords,  I  have  an 
application  to  make  to  your  Lordships  before  the 
order  of  proceedings  is  discussed — an  application 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL,  225 

in  which  my  learned  friends  are  not  interested. 
It  is  an  application  under  section  6  of  the  Special 
Commission  Act  for  the  release  of  Mr.  William 
Redmond,  a  mjsmber  of  Parliament,  against  whom 
certain  particulars  have  been  delivered.  I  have 
to  ask  for  an  order  for  his  release,  in  order  that 
he  may  attend  this  inquiry,  on  such  substantial 
bail  as  your  Lordships  may  think  fit. 

The  President. — ^When  was  he  convicted  ? 

Sir  C.  Russell.— My  Lords,  the  affidavit  on 
which  1  move  shows  that  he  is  now  confined  in 
Wexford  Prison,  that  he  is  a  material  witness  on 
behalf  of  his  colleagues,  and  is  a  person  against 
whom  charges  have  been  made.  He  is  now  under 
sentence  of  three  months*  imprisonment  in  Wex- 
ford Prison.  The  affidavit  does  not  say  when 
he  was  convicted,  but  I  believe  about  a  month 
ago. 

The  President. — When  did  he  commit  the 
offence  for  which  he  was  convicted  ? 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  believe  it  was  on  the  occa- 
sion of  certain  evictions  when  certain,  tenants 
were  resisting  the  process  of  eviction.  I  am  in^ 
formed  it  was  on  the  14th  of  August. 

The  President  (after  consulting  his  colleagues). 
—We  have  already  had  a  similar  application  in 
the  (Case  of  Mr.  Dillon,  which  we  granted  under 
certain  conditions  which  I  think  I  may  say  were 
easy.  We  were  anxious  that  these  proceedings 
should  be,  cOnlmenced  in  such  a  way  that  all  feel- 

15 


226  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL: 

ing  of  irritation  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be 
allayed.  My  brothers  and  I  propose  to  follow 
the  same  course  now  in  regard  to  Mr.  Redmond 
that  we  pursued  in  regard  to  Mr.  Dillon,  but  I 
think  it  right  to  point  out  that  this  power  given 
to  us  to  release  prisoners  must  not  be  construed 
into  immunity  from  imprisonment  for  all  those 
against  whom  convictions  have  been  obtained. 
Without  giving  any  expression  of  opinion  I  desire 
to  point  out  that  in  future  applications  will  be 
made  under  totally  different  circumstances.  How- 
ever, in  order  that  our  action  may  be  prompt,  we 
will  give  you  an  order  for  Mr.  Redmond's  im- 
mediate release  until  further  order,  but  he  will  be 
required  to  enter  into  his  own  recognizances  in 
;^iooo  that  he  will  take  no  part  in  any  public 
proceedings  whatever  during  the  time  of  his 
temporary  release  or  while  this  inquiry  is  pro- 
ceeding, and  that  he  will  surrender  himself  when 
the  period  arrives  to  undergo  the  remainder  of 
his  sentence. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  would  point  out  that  Par- 
liament meets  on  the  6th  of  November. 

The  President. — I  did  not  mean  that. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Would  your  Lordships  make 
the  order  merely  subject  to  any  further  order,  so 
that  he  might  be  re-committed  if  he  took  part  in 
any  proceedings  of  which  your  Lordships  disap- 
proved ? 

The  President. — ^We  are  of  opinion  that  we 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  227 

must  adhere  to  the  terms  which  we  laid  down  in 
the  case  of  Mr.  Dillon. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Mr.  Dillon  was  not  released 
under  your  Lordships'  order,  but  by  the  Govern- 
ment. 

The  President. — ^Yes ;  but  we  laid  down  cer- 
tain conditions  in  his  case,  and  to  those  condi- 
tions we  must  adhere. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Would  the  conditions  allow 
him  (Mr.  Redmond)  to  take  part  in  public  pro- 
ceedings out  of  Ireland  ? 

The  President. — No. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Then  my  application  is  un- 
availing, for  Mr.  Redmond  would  not  comply  with 
the  conditions. 

The  President. — Oh,  very  well,  then. 

The  Attorney-General. — Perhaps  it  would  be 
convenient  now  for  my  learned  friends  to  state  for 
whom  they  appear.  I  appear,  with  my  learned 
friends,  Sir  Henry  James,  Mr.  Murphy,  Mr.  At- 
kinson, Mr.  Graham  and  Mr.  Ronan,  for  the  pro- 
prietors of  The  Times, 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  appear,  with  my  friend,  Mr. 
Asquith,  for  Mr.  Parnell. 

Mr.  Reid. — I  appear,  with  Mr.  T.  Harrington 
and  Mr.  Arthur  Russell,  for  Mr.  Dillon,  Mr. 
Healy  and  others  whose  names  I  shall  hand  in. 

Mr.  Lockwood. — I  appear,  with  Mr.  Lionel 
Hart  and  Mr.  A.  O'Connor,  for  certain  other 


228  CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL. 

gentlemen,  the  rest  of  the  members  of  Parlia- 
ment charged,  a  list  of  whom  I  shall  hand  in. 

Mr.  Hammond  (solicitor). — I  appear  for  Mr.  P. 
A.  Chance. 

The  Attorney-General.— Might  I  be  allowed 
to  ask  whether  your  Lordships  have  arrived  at 
any  detei'mination  as  to  how  many  days  a  week 
your  Lordships  intend  to  sit  ?  I  hope  not  every 
day. 

The  President  (after  consulting  his  colleagues). 
— We  shall  be  ready  to  hear  what  counsel  have  to 
say,  but  our  present  view  is  to  sit  every  day  ex- 
cept Saturday. 

The  Attorney-General. — I  confess  I  had  hoped 
that,  having  regard  to  the  burden  and  gravity  of 
the  case,  your  Lordships  would  have  thought  four 
days  a  week  sufficient.  Your  Lordships  will  have 
considerable  matter  to  digest. 

The  President. — We  shall  be  happy  to  hear 
what  counsel  have  to  say  on  the  subject,  and  if 
we  find  there  is  a  general  concurrence  of  opinion 
on  the  matter  we  shall  be  anxious  to  meet  their 
wishes. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — So  far  as  I  can  gather  there 
IS  not  only  a  general  concurrence  but  a  unanimous 
feeling. 

The  President. — We  have  already  intimated 
our  own  feeling.  It  will,  we  think,  be  better  to 
go  on  everyday  this  week  except  Saturday,  and 


230  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

we  shall  be  ready  to  listen  to  any  further  applica- 
tion on  the  subject. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — As  to  Wednesday  next,  my 
Lords  ? 

The  President. — ^With  regard  to  Wednesday 
I  have  taken  on  myself  to  excuse  our  attendance 
at  the  proceedings  connected  with  the  opening  of 
the  Courts. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  have  some  applications  to 
make  to  your  Lordships  in  regard  to  the  particu- 
lars and  discovery  that  were  ordered. 

The  Attorney-General. — We  have  had  no  no- 
tice of  any  application,  and  the  particulars  were 
delivered  on  Monday. 

The  President. — It  would  certainly  have  been 
according  to  practice  to  have  given  notice  of 
your  application. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — The  first  application  I  have 
to  make  is  in  relation  to  discovery. 

The  President. — Is  it  based  on  affidavit  ? 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Yes. 

The  Attorney-General. — Which  was  sworn 
this  morning. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — ^Yes;  only  a  few  moments 
ago. 

The  President. — ^Would  it  not  be  more  con- 
venient to  let  the  applications  stand  over  till  to- 
morrow morning  ?  I  do  not  think  that  will  make 
any  material  difference. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  do  not  think  it  will.    There 


'     CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  231 

is,  however,  another  matter  which  I  may  mention 
by  way  of  giving  notice  to  my  learned  friends. 
No  particulars  have  been  delivered  as  to  the 
"  other  persons  "  against  whom  allegations  have 
been  made  and  are  intended  to  be  made  here. 
We  know  that  there  is  in  the  particulars  the  omis- 
sion of  the  name  of  a  gentleman  who  has  taken 
a  prominent  part  in  the  politics  of  Ireland — Mr. 
Michael  Davitt.  He  was  not  a  party  to  the  ap- 
plication for  particulars,  and  that  may  be  the 
reason  why  his  name  is  omitted.  But  one  part  of 
the  application  which  I  shall  press  upon  your  Lord- 
ships to-morrow  morning  is  that  particulars  be 
given  of  any  other  persons  than  those  enumerated 
against  whom  it  is  intended  to  substantiate  any 
charges. 

The  Attorney-General. — I  shall  make  my  ob- 
servations on  that  matter  when  tne  applicatiort  is 
made. 

The  President. — -Very  well. 

The  Attorney-General  then  rose  to  open  the 
case,  which  he  did  in  a  tiresome,  labored  argu- 
ment, which  pretended  to  be  a  summary  of  what 
he  expected  to  prove,  but  in  which  he  introduced 
letters  and  other  matters  which  the  laws  govern- 
ing the  rules  of  evidence,  I  am  told,  almost  abso- 
lutely prevented  his  doing  in  what  lawyers  claim 
to  be  "  the  regular  way." 


232  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

o'sHEA's    EVIDENCE. 

The  seventh  sitting  of  the  Commission,  held 
on  October  31st,  saw  the  famous  O'Shea  on  the 
witness  stand.  The  proceedings  that  day  are 
interesting  in  many  ways.  After  the  Commis- 
sioners had  taken  their  seats  the  Attorney-Gen- 
eral said:  "With  your  Lordships'  permission  I 
propose  to  call  a  witness  who  is*obliged  to  leave 
England — namely,  Captain  O'Shea.  He  has  only 
with  difficulty,  I  believe,  remained  until  to-day, 
and  as  he  has  to  leave  for  Spain,  I  would  ask 
your  Lordships  to  allow  me  to  call  him  now. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — My  learned  friend  was  good 
enough  yesterday  evening  to  intimate  to  me  that 
he  intended  calling  Captain  O'Shea  this  morning. 
But  I  have  to  tell  your  Lordships  that  it  will  be 
impossible  for  me  at  this  stage  of  the  case  to 
cross-examine  him  on  the  part  of  those  I  repre- 
sent. Therefore,  i^  Captain  O'Shea  has  to  go  to 
Spain  he  must  come  back  again.  I  shall  have  to 
ask  your  Lordships  to  allow  me  to  postpone  my 
cross-examination,  and  under  these  circumstances 
I  would  put  it  to  my  learned  friend  whether  he 
still  thinks  it  necessary  to  proceed  with  the  ex- 
amination to-day. 

The  Attorney-General. — I  cannot  understand 
any  reason  why  Captain  O'Shea  should  not  be 
examined,  and  cross-examined  as  well,  to-day. 
He  has  been  subpoenaed  by  both  sides,  and  I  do 


CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL.  233 

not  see  why  he  should  not  be  examined  and  cross- 
examined  in  the  ordinary  course.  Whatever 
course  my  learned  friend  sees  fit  to  take,  I  opened 
the  points  on  which  Captain  O'Shea  would  give 
material  evidence,  and  I  must  lay  that  evidence 
before  this  Commission. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — The  only  thing  I  intimated 
was  that  Captain  O'Shea  will  have  to  attend  again 
at  a  later  stage. 

The  Attorney-General. — That  will  rest  with 
your  Lordships.  Your  Lordships  will  form  a 
judgment  as  to  whether  he  ought  to  be  cross-ex- 
amined when  your  Lordships  have  heard  his  evi- 
dence. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — No. 

The  Attorney- General. — You  are  not  a  judge, 
Sir  Charles. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Nor  are  you. 

The  Attorney-General. — I  am  submitting  this 
point,  that  no  case  has  been  made  out  as  yet  for 
postponing  the  cross-examination,  and  the  appli- 
cation will  have  to  be  made  in  ordinary  course  at 
the  close  of  the  examination  in  chief 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  am  making  that  application 
now. 

The  President. — I  think  it  is,  of  course,  very 
desirable  that  we  should  hear  the  evidence  of  this 
witness.  But  I  should  be  disposed  to  say  that, 
when  counsel  states  that  he  is  not.  prepared  to 
cross-examine,  cross-examination   should  be  re- 


234  CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL. 

served.  Therefore  it  is  for  you^  Mr.  Attorney,  to 
say  whether,  after  the  intimation  you  have  re- 
ceived, you  should  persevere  in  the  examination. 
The  Attorney-General.- — Yes;  I  think  I  should 
wish  to  take  his  examination  in  chief  now.  I 
hope  when  my  learned  friend's  application  for  the 
postponement  of  the  cross-examination  is  made, 
your  Lordships  will  require  it  to  be  supported  by 
some  grounds  other  than  the  statement  of  my^ 
learned  friend  that  he  is  not  prepared.  As  Sir 
C.  Russell  has  himself  stated,  I  intimated  to  him 
last  night  that  it  was  our  intention  to  call  Captain 
O'Shea  to-day.  But  your  Lordships  will,  no 
doubt,  deal  with  the  matter  when  it  arises. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


CAPTAIN  W.  H.  O'SHEA  was  then  sworn 
and  examined  by  the  Attorney-General. 

Were  you  formerly  member  of  Parliament  for 
county  Clare? — Yes. 

During  what  years  were  you  in  Parliament? — 
I  was  a  member  for  Clare  from  1880  to  1885. 

Have  you  been  in  Parliament  since  ? — Yes.  I 
stood  for  a  division  of  Liverpool  at  the  dissolu- 
tion of  1885,  ^^^  w^s  beaten,  and  then  I  became 
member  for  Galway. 

Until  the  dissolution  of  1886  ? — No  ;  I  resigned 
my  seat. 

The  President. — When  ? 

Witness. — I  think  the  9th  of  June. 

The  Attorney-General. — From  the  year  1880 
up  to  1883  and  1884  were  you  on  friendly  terms 
with  Mr.  Parnell  ? — Yes. 

I  should  have  said  till  1885  ? — Yes  ;  until  June, 
1886.     May  or  June,  1886. 

In  the  earlier  part  of  1881  had  you  frequent 
private  communications  with  Mr.  Parnell  on  polit- 
ical matters? — Yes. 


236  CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL. 

And,  without  going  into  details  for  the  present, 
did  you  communicate,  at  Mr.  Parnell's  request, 
with  any  official  personages  ? — I  communicated,  at 
Mr.  Parnell's  request,  with  Mr.  Gladstone  in  June, 
1881. 

Certain  matters  passed  between  you  and  Mr. 
Gladstone,  at  Mr.  Parnell's  request,  in  1881  ? — 
Yes. 

Did  you  know  from  Mr.  Parnell  whether  the 
1 88 1  negotiations  were  made  with  the  knowledge 
of  his  other  colleagues  or  not  ? — No  ;  they  were 
made  without  the  knowledge  of  his  other  col- 
leagues, according  to  the  information  given  to 
me. 

Whom  do  you  mean  by  **  Mr.  Parnell's  other 
colleagues  ?  " — I  mean  his  colleagues  in  Parlia- 
ment— those  who  formed  his  party. 

Did  you  have  at  that  time  any  communications 
with  Mr.  Parnell  in  reference  to  Mr.  Egan  ? — No. 

Did  you  know  at  that  time  from  Mr.  Parnell 
whether  the  communications  were  known  to  Mr. 
Egan  ? — No.  I  ascertained  afterwards  they  were 
not  known  to  him.' 

From  whom  did  you  afterwards  ascertain  that  ? 
— From  Mr.  Parnell. 

Did  you  know  Mr.  Egan  yourself? — No. 

Did  you  know  in  1881  what  Mr.  Egan  was  do- 
ing or  where  he  was  ?— -I  do  not  remember. 

When  did  you  learn  that  the  1881  negotiations 
were  not  known  to  Mr.  Egan  ? — After  Mr.  Glad- 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  237 

Stone's  speech  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the 
1 6th  of  May,  1882. 

What  was  it  that  Mr.  Parnell  said  to  you  that 
led  you  to  the  opinion  that  the  1 88 1  negotiations 
were  not  known  to  Mr.  Egan  ? — Subsequently  to 
the  speech  I  have  referred  to  Mr.  Parnell  ex- 
pressed regret  at  the  awkwardness  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone in  introducing  the  matter,  and  he  said  that 
that  speech  annoyed  Mr.  Egan  and,  I  believe, 
others. 

Did  he  say  who  the  others  were  ? — Not  to  my 
knowledge. 

After  the  negotiations  or  communications  of 

1 88 1  did  the  matter  drop  until  the  beginning  of 

1882  ? — The  matter  was  brought  before  the  Cab- 
inet in  1 88 1  and  rejected. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — How  can  you  say  that  ?  You 
were  not  in  the  Cabinet  ?     (Laughter.) 

The  Attorney-General. — This  is  not  a  laugh- 
ing matter.  The  matter,  as  far  as  you  were  con- 
cerned, dropped  until  the  early  part  of  1882? — 
The  matter  was  dropped,  but  I  recommenced  it 
in  1882. 

In  April,  1882,  where  was  Mr.  Parnell? — He 
was  on  parole,  being  released  from  Kilmainham. 

Who  were  his  colleagues  in  Kilmainham— Mr. 
Dillon  and  Mr.  O'Kelly. 

Did  you  know  where  Mr.  Egan  was  then  ? — I 
have  no  doubt  he  was  in  Paris. 

Did  you  in  the  early  part  of  1882  enter  into 


238  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

certain  communications  with  members  of  the 
Government  ? — Yes. 

Were  those  communications  in  1882  without 
the.  direct  authority  of  Mr.  Parnell? — Without 
any  authority  whatever  from  Mr.  Parnell,  direct 
or  indirect. 

Please  answer  this  question — Yes  or  no.  Did  you 
receive  certain  communications  from  certain  mem- 
bers of  the  Government  in  the  course  of  these 
communications  ? — Yes. 

Had  you  any  communications  from  Mr.  Par- 
nell until  his  release  on  parole  ? — No. 

When  was  he  released  on  parole?  Do  you 
know  ? — I  cannot  remember  the  date. 

How  did  you  first  know  of  it? — Mr.  Parnell 
called  on  me. 

Where? — I  was  at  No.  i,  Albert-mansions. 

Had  you  any  other  house  ? — Yes ;  I  had  a 
house  at  Eltham.  I  had  an  attack  of  gout  from 
which  I  was  recovering.  Mr.  Parnell  went  first 
to  Eltham  to  see  me,  and  then  came  to  Albert- 
mansions. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — The  exact  date  of  Mr.  Par- 
nell's  release  on  parole  is  the  loth  of  April. 

The  Attorney-General. — Will  you  tell  us  what 
passed  at  that  interview  with  regard  to  the  com- 
munications you  had  been  engaged  in  up  to  that 
time  with  certain  representatives  of  the  Govern- 
ment ? — I  mentioned  to  him  what  I  had  done.     I 


240  CHARLES  STEWART   PARNELL. 

mentioned  that  I  had  written  to  Mr.  Gladstone, 
and  he  expressed  himself  pleased  at  the  fact. 

Do  you  remember  anything  else  being  referred 
to  at  that  meeting  with  regard  to  the  communica- 
tion to  Mr.  Gladstone  ? — -No,  because  that  was 
just  after  my  communication  with  Mr.  Gladstone, 
and  I  promised  that  as  soon  as  I  got  an  answer 
I  would  communicate  it  to  him. 

Do  you  remember  on  that  occasion  anything 
being  said  about  his  release  ? — We  spoke  about 
his  release,  but  it  was  arranged  that  it  should  not 
be  a  conditional  matter  in  any  way. 

I  think  you  said  if  you  got  an  answer  you  would 
communicate  with  him  in  Paris  ? — I  did. 

Did  he  leave  before  you  received  any  answer  ? 
— Yes.  He  dined  with  me  and  went  off  by 
the  London,  Chatham,  and  Dover  Railway  that 
night. 

Did  you  subsequently,  shortly  after,  receive  a 
reply  from  Mr.  Gladstone  ? — Yes. 

Did  you  receive  any  letter  from  Mr.  Parnell 
while  in  Paris  ?— Yes. 

Have  you  got  that  ? — Yes.     Here  it  is. 

It  is  dated  i6th  of  April? — Yes. 

The  letter  was  then  read : 

"Grand  Hotel,  12,  Boulevard  des  Capucines, 
Paris,  April  16,  1882. 

"  My  Dear  O^Shea  : — Your  letter  with  enclo- 
sure, which  I  now  return,  has  duly  reached  me. 


CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL.  241 

and  is  very  Interesting.  I  trust  that  something 
may  come  out  of  the  correspondence,  and  certainly 
the  prospect  looks  favorable.  You  were  right 
to  accentuate  the  difference  between  a  gift  and  a 
loan.  If  you  read  FottrelPs  evidence  before  the 
Lord's  Committee  you  will  see  what  I  mean. 
The  latter  will  only  benefit  the  lawyers,  who  are 
making  far  too  much  out  of  the  Irish  land  ques- 
tion as  it  is.  I  think  FottrelPs  estimate  of  the 
amount  requisite  very  near  the  mark.  I  cannot 
at  all  see  how  the  ownership  of  land  in  Ireland 
in  the  occupation  of  tenants  can  ever  again  fetch 
the  prices  of  the  interval  between  '70  and  ^']'],  A 
permanent  settlement  is  most  desirable  for  every- 
body's sake,  and  this  can  only  be  done  by  extend- 
ing the  term  of  repayment.  According  to  my 
calculation  about  eight  millions  of  pounds  sterling 
would  enable  three-fourths  of  the  tenants  (those 
at  or  under  £2P  valuation)  to  become  owners  at 
fairly  remunerative  prices  to  the  landlords.  The 
larger  class  of  tenants  can  do  well  enough  with 
the  Law  Courts  if  Mr.  Healy's  clause  be  fairly 
amended.  I  am  very  much  obliged  for  your  kind 
inquiries  regarding  my  sister.  She  was  very 
much  cut  up,  but  is  somewhat  better  now.  My 
presence  here  has  been  a  great  help  to  her  in 
every  way.  I  shall  probably  be  returning  through 
London  Sunday  next,  and  will  look  you  up  If  I 
have  time.  "Yours  very  truly, 

"  Chas.  S.  Parnell." 
16 


242  CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL. 

Now,  on  receipt  of  that  letter  from  Mr.  Par- 
nell,  did  you  make  certain  communications,  con- 
tinue making  communications,  with  certain  mem- 
bers of  the  government? — Yes. 

Did  Mr.  Parnell  return  from  Paris  before  you 
expected  him  or  not? — He  returned  from  Paris 
sooner  than  I  expected  him. 

On  what  date  did  you  see  him  again  ? — I  can- 
not remember  perfectly  the  date ;  but  I  should 
think  it  was  on  the  Wednesday. 

That  is  April  19, 1  think  ;  it  would  probably  be 
April  19.  Did  he  telegraph  to  you  that  he  was 
coming  ? — Yes. 

Where  to  ? — To  Eltham. 

Did  you  know  whether  any  of  Mr.  ParnelPs 
immediate  followers,  other  than  those  who  were 
in  Kilmainham,  were  in  London  at  the  same  time  ? 
— Yes,  a  good  many  of  them. 

Did  you  see  Mr.  Parnell  alone  ? — Oh,  yes,  I 
saw  Mr.  Parnell  alone ;  I  never  had  anything  to 
do  with  any  one  but  Mr.  Parnell. 

Do  you  remember  on  the  Wednesday  a  con- 
versation with  Mr.  Parnell  about  Mr.  Davitt? — 
I  have  no  doubt  that  there  was  a  conversation 
respecting  Mr.  Davitt;  but  I  cannot  remember 
the  exact  date. 

Never  mind  about  the  date.  Do  you  remem- 
ber on  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Parnell  being  out  of 
Kilmainham  whether  he  said  anything  about  Mr. 
Davitt? — Yes.     I  was  particularly  anxious  that 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  243 

Davitt  should  be  released,  and  I  exerted  myself 
to  that  purpose. 

Will  you  tell  us  what  passed  between  you  and 
Mr.  Parnell  with  reference  to  Davitt's  release  ? — 
At  that  time  nothing  more  than  that.  We  spoke 
about  it ;  he  agreed  that  it  would  be  very  advan- 
tageous indeed  if  Mr.  Davitt  were  to  be  released. 
I  felt  strongly  myself,  and  spoke  to  him  strongly 
on  the  point  also. 

Did  he  say  anything  about  negotiations  with 
Mr.  Davitt,  or  about  any  difficulty  ? — Not  at  that 
time. 

On  that  occasion,  at  Eltham,  do  you  remember 
his  referring  to  the  release  of  others  of  his 
colleagues  ? — He  remained  sqveral  days  before 
he  returned  to  Kilmainham — 

How  many  times  did  you  see  him  ? — Oh,  con- 
stantly. 

Did  he  say  anything  about  the  release  of  any 
other  of  his  colleagues  ? — Yes  ;  he  saw  an  objec- 
tion to  the  release  of  certain  of  his  -colleagues. 

Explain  what  you  mean  by  an  objection. — He 
thought  it  would  be  inexpedient  to  release  certain 
prisoners. 

Why  ? — Because  they  would  not.  He  did  not 
think  that  they  could  be  released  at  that  time 
with  advantage  to  the  policy  which  was  being 
pursued. 

Do  you  remember  whether  on  that  occasion  at 
Eltham  he*  mentioned  any  names  ?— Yes ;  there 


244  CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL. 

were  some  names  which  I  was  to  mention  to  Mr. 
Chamberlain,  and  which  I  did  mention  to  Mr. 
Chamberlain. 

As  persons  not  to  be  released? — Yes  ;  as  per- 
sons not  to  be  released;  but  neither  Mr.  Cham- 
berlain nor  myself  approved  of  it. 

Can  you  tell  me  the  names  of  any  you  remem- 
ber ? — Yes  ;  Brennan. 

Was  Mr.  Brennan  in  Kilmainham  at  that  time? 
— I  rather  think  he  was  in  another  gaol. 

Did  you  know  what  Mr.  Brennan  was — what 
his  occupation  had  been  ? — I  know  he  was  an 
agitator. 

Did  you  know  he  was  connected  with  the 
League  ? — Oh,  yes.  I  think  I  must  have  known 
that. 

Did  you  know  he  was  secretary,  or  treasurer, 
or  what  ? — I  knew  he  was  an  official  of  the  Land 
Leaoue. 

Now,  on  that  occasion,  Mr.  O'Shea — I  am 
speaking  of  the  visit  to  Eltham — were  the  out- 
rages discussed? — Oh,  yes;  largely  discussed. 

Will  yoii  tell  us  what  was  said,  the  substance 
of  what  was  said,  between  you  and  Mr.  Parnell 
on  that  occasion,  when  he  was  on  that  visit, 
before  he  went  back  to  Kilmainham  ? — Com- 
munications were  being  carried  on  by  the  govern- 
ment at  that  time,  and  in  the  course  of  those 
communications  naturally  the  question  of  the 
release  of  prisoners  came  up.     It  is  only  fair  to 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  245 

Mr.  Parnell  to  say  that  he  never  made  any  con- 
ditions himself  in  the  discussion  of  these  matters 
as  to  the  conduct  he  should  adopt — 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Oh,  no,  no ;  your  communica- 
tions— 

The  Attorney-General. — No,  Mr.  Parnell's 
future  conduct. 

The  Witness. — He  authorized  me  to  say  that 
he  would  do  his  utmost  to  do  what  he  afterwards 
said  in  the  Kilmainham  letter. 

The  Attorney-General. — Well,  we  are  not 
going  into  the  Kilmainham  letter  at  present. 
What  did  he  authorize  you  to  say  he  would  do  ? — 
Put  down  outrages. 

Did  he  say  anything  in  regard  to  rent? — Yes. 

What  did  he  say? — That  a  No-rent  Manifesto 
should  be  drawn  up. 

Did  he  say  anything  about  advice  to  tenants  as 
to  payment  of  rent? — I  take  it  that  that  was 
included  in  the  drawing  up  of  a  No-rent  Mani- 
festo. 

Do  you  remember  whether  he  referred  at  all  to 
intimidation  or  boycotting  ? — Yes. 

What  did  he  say? — He  had  always  thought 
that  if  the  question  of  arrears  were  settled  it 
would  be  a  matter  of  material  benefit ;  that  out- 
rages would  be  put  down  and  boycotting  also  ; 
and  he  would  endeavor  to  do  that  by  the  aid  of 
his  friends. 


246  CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Would  your  Lordship  allow 
the  shorthand  writer  to  read  that  answer? 

The  President. — Certainly. 

The  shorthand  writer  having  done  so, 

The  Attorney-General,  resuming  the  examina- 
tion of  the  witness,  asked,  Did  you  embody  the 
result  of  your  conversation  with  Mr.  Parnell  in  a 
written  memorandum  ? — Hardly,  but — 

Did  you  at  the  time  embody  it  in  a  memoran- 
dum ? — Yes. 

Which  you  handed,  I  think,  to  a  member  of  the 
government  ? — It  was  by  myself  or  a  member  of 
the  government. 

The  President.— "  Or "  or  ''for?"— With  a 
member  of  the  government. 

The  Attorney-General. — Have  you  got  that  ? 
The  witness  produced  a  document  which  was 
handed  to  the  Attorney-General. 

The  Attorney-General. — Whose  handwriting 
is  this  in? — Mr.  Chamberlain's. 

The  document  was  handed  back  to  the  witness. 

The  Attorney-General. — What  I  want  to 
ask  you,  looking'  at  that,  is.  Did  it  at  any  rate 
truthfully  represent  the  substance  of  what  Mr. 
Parnell  had  said  to  you?  Up  to  that  time  I 
mean  ? — Yes. 

The  Attorney- General. — I  put  tliat  in,  my 
Lords. 

Sir  Ci  Russell. — Well,  I  have  not  seen  it,  and 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  247 

do  not  know  whether  it  is  evidence ;  but  I  do  not 
object. 

The  President. — I  understand  you  do  not  object, 
Sir  Charles  ? 

Sir  C.  Russell. — No,  my  Lord ;  I  would  rather 
the  document  was  read. 

The  President. — Will  you  look  at  it.  Sir 
Charles? 

Sir  C.  Russell. — If  your  Lordship  pleases. 

The  document  was  handed  to  Sir  C.  Russell 
and  then  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Commission,  who 
proceeded  to  read  it: — "  22d  April,  1882," — That 
is  in  pencil  on  the  top  left-hand  corner — "72, 
Prince's-gate,  S.  W.  If  the  government  announce 
a  satisfactory  plan  of  dealing  with  arrears,  Mr. 
Parnell  will  advise  all  tenants  to  pay  rents,  and 
will  denounce  outrages  and  resistance  to  law  and 
all  processes  of  intimidation,  whether  by  boycot- 
ting or  in  any  other  way.  No  plan  of  dealing 
with  arrears  will  be  satisfactory  which  does  not 
wipe  them  off  compulsorily  by  composition,  one- 
third  payable  by  tenant,  one-third  by  the  State 
from  the  Church  Fund  or  some  other  public 
source,  and  one-third  remitted  by  the  landlord^  so 
that  the  contribution  by  the  tenant  and  the  State 
shall  not  exceed  one  year's  rent ;  the  balance,  if 
any,  to  be  remitted  by  the  landlord.  Arrears  to 
be  defined  as  arrears  accruing  up  to  1881." 

The  Attorney-General. — Now,  Mr.  O'Shea, 
did  you,  on  April  23 — only  answer  my  question, 


248  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

yes  or  no— -write  a  letter  to  Mr.  Chamberlain  ? — 
Yes. 

Of  which  I  think  you  have  a  copy  ?  You  need 
not  trouble  to  read  it,  only  answer  my  question. 
I  think  it  is  April  23,  1882  ? — Yes. 

In  substance,  on  the  question  of  outrages,  pay- 
ment of  rent,  boycotting,  and  intimidation,  do  you 
remember,  prior  to  Mr.  Parnell's  returning  to 
Kilmainham,  anything  more  passing  between  him 
and  you — I  am  speaking  of  that  period  prior  to 
your  going  to  Kilmainham  ? — I  do  not  remember 
anything  else. 

Mr.  Parnell  went  back  to  Kilmainham — just 
answer  my  question,  yes  or  no — did  you  continue 
the  negotiations  which  had  been  commenced 
before  and  continued  while  Mr.  Parnell  was  in 
London,  after  he  went  back  to  Kilmainham? — 
Yes. 

On  April  27,  1882,  did  you  consider  it  desirable 
to  go  to  Kilmainham  to  see  Mr.  Parnell  yourself? 
—Yes. 

Did  you  know,  Mr.  O'Shea,  with  reference  to 
what  passed  before  and  while  you  were  at 
Kilmainham,  whether  the  fact  of  your  negotia- 
tions was  known  to  the  other  members  of  the 
party? 

Sir  C.  Russell. — My  Lord,  I  object  to  that 
question. 

The  Attorney-General. — I  think  my  learned 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  249 

friend  does  not  quite  understand  my  question,  I 
meant  from  Mr.  Parnell. 

The  Attorney-General  having  repeated  his 
question,  the  witness  said — During  my  interview 
in  Kllmalnham  I  was  told  they  were  not. 

The  Attorney-General.— Had  anything  passed 
between  you  and  Mr.  Parnell  prior  to, your  going 
to  Kilmainham  as  to  your  going  there  ? — Yes,  a 
letter.  * 

Had  anything  passed  in  conversation  as  to 
your  going  to  Kilmainham  ? — I  do  not  remember. 

Have  you  the  letter — had  you  received  a  letter  ? 
— ^Yes,  I  received  a  letter. 

Upon  this  particular  matter  with  reference  to 
your  going  to  Kilmainham  ? — Yes.  Do  you  want 
the  letter  ? 

I  want  it  if  you  have  It  there.  Witness  handed 
a  letter  to  the  learned  counsel,  and  it  was  read 
by  the  secretary  as  follows : 

"April  27,  1882. 
"My  Dear  O'Shea:— Wednesday's  proceed- 
ings were  very  promising  so  far  as  they  went.  I 
think  it  would  be  well  now  to  wait  and  see  what 
proposals  are  made,  as  an  appearance  of  over- 
anxiety  on  your  part  might  be  injurious.  The 
journey  from  London  was  very  fair  and  quiet, 
and  I  got  as  far  as  Holyhead  without  being 
recognized.     If  you  come  to  Ireland  I  think  you 


250  CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL. 

had  best  not  see  me,  for  reasons  I  will  explain 
hereafter, 

"Yours  very  truly, 

"  C.  S.  Parnell." 

The  Attorney-General.' — Do  you  know  what 
Wednesday's  proceedings  were  ? — Yes,  a  Wed- 
nesday's debate  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  a 
Bill  brought  in  by  one  of  Mr.  Parnell's  col- 
leagues. 

Which  of  his  colleagues  ?  Do  you  remember  ? 
— Mr.  Redmond,  I  think.  I  am  not  quite  certain, 
but  I  am  almost  certain. 

Did  you  receive  a  telegram  from  Mr.  Parnell 
about  the  same  time  ? — Yes  ;  but  I  do  not  think 
I  received  it  until  I  returned  from  Kilmainham. 

That  period  does  not  come  till  afterwards. 
You  had  left  London  before  the  telegram  arrived. 
Did  anything  pass  between  you  and  Mr.  Parnell 
while  at  Kilmainham  with  reference  to  what  he 
referred  to  in  that  letter  as  to  the  desirability  of 
your  not  seeing  him? — Yes;  but  arising  out  of 
that  he  told  me  he  should,  on  my  leaving,  im- 
mediately inform  Mr.  Dillon  and  Mr.  O'Kelly  that 
some  one  had  been  to  see  him. 

Anything  more  ? — Not  that  I  remember. 

I  do  not  want  to  anticipate  or  come  to  the 
interview,  but  I  want  to  know  whether  or  not  Mr. 
Parnell  referred  to  the  reasons  he  mentions  in 
his   letter   for   not   seeing   you.     He   says,  you 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  251 

know,  in  his  letter,  "  if  you  come  to  Ireland  I 
think  you  had  best  not  see  me,  for  reasons  I  will 
explain  hereafter."  Did  he  refer  to  those  reasons 
when  you  met  ?— As  far  as  I  remember  he  did 
not.  He  thought  it  was  injudicious  that  I  should 
see  him  at  that  time  at  Kilmainham  among  all 
the  others  there. 

You  had  an  order  to  see  him? — Yes,  Mr. 
Forster  gave  me  an  order,  so  that  I  might  make 
it  clear  to  the  Cabinet  how  everything  was 
going  on. 

You  went  to  Kilmainham,  I  think,  in  a  four- 
wheeled  cab  ? — Yes,  with  the  Deputy  Chairman 
of  the  Irish  Prisons  Board. 

Was  a  letter  written  by  you  in  Kilmainham  and 
signed  by  Mr.  Parnell? — No,  the  letter  was  written 
by  Mr.  Parnell. 

Written  while  you  were  there  ? — Yes,  written 
while  I  was  there. 

The  whole  of  that  letter  was  written  by  Mr. 
Parnell  ? — Yes,  the  whole  of  it  was  written  by 
him. 

Before  that  letter  was  written,  will  you  tell  us 
what  conversation  passed  between  you  and  Mr. 
Parnell  on  the  subject  of  outrages,  intimidation, 
and  payment  of  rent  ?-^Yes ;  I  explained  to  him 
that  this  was  a  very  important  matter  to  several 
members  of  the  Cabinet,  and  must  be  clearly  set 
out,  and  we  had  a  long  conversation,  the  outcome 


252  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

of  which  was   the   letter,  in  which,  I  think,  he 
stated  exactly  what  he  wanted. 

I  will  read  the  letter,  of  course,  presently,  but 
was  only  a  hurried  reference  made  to  the  ques- 
tion of  outrages  ?-:— Oh,  no ;  much  more  than 
that.  There  was  an  earnest  conversation  respect- 
ing the  No-rent  Manifesto  and  outrages.  Apart 
from  my  official  character,  I  asked  Mr.  Parnell 
privately  if  he  was  sure  he  would  be  able  to 
carry  out  the  guarantee  he  had  given  with  the  aid* 
of  his  colleagues,  and  to  put  down  boycotting, 
outrages,  and  the  no-rent  movement  ?  He  gave 
me  that  assurance,  saying  that  the  outrages  were 
largely  committed  by  the  sons  of  tenants  in 
arrear.  The  Arrears  Bill,  he  said,  would,  of 
course,  have  a  good  effect  on  them,  and  that  he 
had  every  confidence  that  his  authority  and  that 
of  his  colleagues  was  so  great  that  I  might  assure 
the  Ministry  that  he  would  be  able  to  do  what 
they  wanted. 

Do  you  remember  whether  this  particular  part 
of  the  conversation  occurred  before  or  after  the 
letter  was  written  ? — I  should  think  both  before 
and  after. 

The  Attorney-General. — My  Lords,  I  think 
it  is  best  to  try  and  get  the  whole  of  the  conver- 
sation before  I  read  the  letter.  Inasmuch  as  I 
understand  that  the  conversation  took  place 
before  the  letter  was  written,  I  will  not  divide  it. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  253 

(To  Witness)  Did  Mr.  Parnell  refer  to  any  par- 
ticular men  or  names  ? — Yes. 

To  whom  ? — He  spoke  of  what  ought  to  Le 
done  in  the  case  of  my  success  in  getting  his 
release,  and  carrying  the  negotiations  through, 
on  which  his  release' would,  of  course,  immediately 
take  place.  It  is  due  to  Mr.  Parnell  to  say  that 
his  condition  of  release  was  never  put  forward  as 
an  absolute  condition. 

No ;.  that  is  not  suggested.  What  I  want  to 
know  is  this — do  you  remember  his  referring  to 
anybody  else  in  connection  with  the  putting  down 
of  outrages  ? — Yes ;  we  had  a  long  conversation 
about  it.  He  was  anxious  that  certain  men  should 
be  released. 

Who  were  they? — Boyton  and  Sheridan. 

Will  you  tell  me  what  he  said  about  Sheridan  ? 
— He  said  that  he  had  been  an  organizer  in  the 
west,  that  he  knew  everybody,  and  that  Mr.  Par- 
nell believed  that,  if  he  were  released  and  he 
could  see  him,  he  would  be  able  to  use  him  for 
the  purpose  of  putting  down  outrages.  I  am 
not  quite  sure,  however,  that  It  was  a  question  of 
release  in  Sheridan's  case.  I  think  there  was 
merely  a  warrant  out  against  him. 

Did  Mr.  Parnell  tell  you  anything  you  were  to 
do  or  to  say  with  regard  to  Sheridan  ? — Yes  ;^l 
was  to  repeat  what  he  had  said  to  Mr.  Forster,  and 
I  did  repeat  it  to  him.    ^ 

Just  give  us  as  a  collected  statement,  if  you  can, 


254  CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL. 

of  what  you  were  to  repeat  to  the  government 
with  regard  to  Sheridan. — That  he  had  been  an 
organizer  in  the  west  of  Ireland  ;  that  he  had 
made  many  acquaintances  in  the  district,  and  that 
he  would  be  a  most  useful  man  to  use  for  the 
purpose  of  putting  down  outrage  and  boycotting 
if  Mr.  Parnell  saw  him. 

The  Attorney-General. — '^  If  Mr.  Parnell  saw 
him."  I  do  not  know  whether  your  Lordships 
heard  the  end  of  the  sentence. 

The  President. — Yes,  we  did. 

The  Attorney-General. — Now,  did  he  say 
anything  more  as  to  the  necessity  of  his  seeing 
Sheridan? — Yes,  he  said  that  he  was  very 
anxious  to  see  him  in  the  case  of  his  own  release. 

You  mentioned  a  short  time  ago  something 
about  Boyton.  What  did  Mr.  Parnell  say  about 
Boyton  ? — Very  much  the  same  thing,  only  he  had 
been  an  organizer,  not  in  the  west,  but  in  another 
province. 

Did  he  name  the  province? — Yes,  I  rather 
think  that  it  was  Leinster;  but  I  am  not  at  all 
certain. 

In  this  conversation  was  Eoran^s  name  men- 
tioned  at  all  ? — Yes. 

What  did  he  say  about  Egan? — He  said  he 
was  anxious  to  see  him,  and  that  I  ought  to  get 
Egan  back  also. 

Did  he  say  why  you  should  try  and  get  Egan 
back  ? — I  have  no  doubt  he  knew 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  255 

Sir  C.  Russell. — No,  no.  Tell  us,  please,  what 
he  said. 

The  Attorney-General. — As  far  as  you  recol- 
lect tell  us  what  Mr.  Parnell  said  about  Egan  ? 
-^He  said  he  should  be  anxious  to  see  him,  as 
then  he  should  be  able  to  show  him  the  advan- 
tages of  the  policy  he  was  adopting. 

Now,  do  you  remember  asking  him  anything 
about  these  three  men  collectively  as  to  his  power 
over  them — that  is  to  say,  over  Egan,  Sheridan, 
and  Boyton? — Yes. 

-  What  did  he  say? — In  the  course  of  conver- 
sation he  told  me  several  times  that  he  was  con- 
fident that  if  he  saw  them  first  he  should  be  able 
to  induce  them  to  do  what  he  wanted. 

Do  you  remember  the  actual  expression  he 
used  when  he  said  if  he  saw  them  first  ? — Yes. 
He  said  if  he  got  the  first  run  at  them. 

Had  you  yourself  any  knowledge  of  the  work- 
ing of  the  Land  League  ? — No,  no  private  knowl- 
edge ;  none  except  what  was  in  the  general 
knowledge  of  the  public.  I  had  no  private 
knowledge  of  its  affairs,  and  I  was  never  con- 
nected with  its  affairs. 

Had  you  ever  been  connected  with  it  ? — No. 

Now,  in  the  course  of  this  conversation,  was 
Mr.  Davitt's  name  referred  to  ? — Yes. 

What  passed  at  Kilmainham  with  reference  to 
Mr.  Davitt? — Very  much  the  same  conversation 
passed  with  reference  to  him  as  to  the  others. 


256  CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL. 

He  was  In  a  different  position,  as  he  was  in  penal 
servitude.  Mn  Parnell  said  he  was  very  anxious 
to  see  Mr.  Davitt  released,  and  he  was  anxious 
that  the  release  of  the  other  men  should  include 
Mr.  Davitt. 

Do  you  remember  anything  being  said  at  Kll- 
malnham  as  to  when  Mr.  Davitt  should  be  re- 
leased ? — No,  because  nothing  was  arranged  at 
that  time  about  his  release. 

Did  anything  pass  on  that  occasion  about  Mr. 
Parnell  seeing  Mr.  Davitt  or  not  ? — All  I  can  say 
is  that  Mr.  Parnell  said  that  he  was  anxious  that 
the  release  should  include  Mr.  Davitt. 

Now  you  have  referred  to  these  three  men — do 
you  recollect  any  conversation  taking  place  about 
keeping  these  persons  in  prison  ? — That  subject 
was  not  referred  to  then. 

Did  you  bring  away  a  letter  signed  by  Mr.  P^ir 
nell  ? — Yes. 

What  did  you  do  with  it  ? — I  took  it  the  next 
morning  —  Sunday  —  to  Mr.  Forster,  at  his 
house. 

Have  you  a  copy  of  it  ? — No ;  but  It  has  been 
published. 

You  have  not  got  the  letter  itself? — No ;  it  was 
handed  to  the  Cabinet. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — How  can  you  know  that  ? 

The  President. — You  ought  to  leave  out  the 
reference  to  the  Cabinet.  Of  course  you  ought 
not  to  know  what  was  done  there.     (Laughter.) 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  257 

The  Attorney-General., — Was  that  letter  read 
by  Mr.  Parnell  on  the  15th  of  May  in  your  hear- 
ing in  the  House  of  Commons  ? — Yes ;  but  it  was 
read  by  Mr.  Parnell  with  certain  omissions. 

The  Attorney-General. — I  will  read  the  whole 
letter  as  it  was  signed  by  Mr.  Parnell.  The  ac- 
tual print  of  it  is  to  be  found  in  "Hansard,"  vol. 
269,  p.  672,  as  it  was  read  by  Mr.  Parnell  himself 
in  the  House  of  Commons.  It  is  dated  from  Kil- 
mainham,  April  28,  1882,  and  it  is  in  the  following 
terms : — 
17 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


MY   DEAR    MR.    o'SHEA, 


"  I  was  very  sorry  that  you  had  left  Albert-man- 
sions before  I  reached  London  from*  Eltham,  as  I 
had  wished  to  tell  you  that,  after  our  conversation, 
I  had  made  up  my  mind  that  it  would  be  proper 
for  me  to  put  Mr.  McCarthy  in  possession  of  the 
vie\ys  which  I  had  previously  communicated  to 
you.  I  desire  to  impress  upon  you  the  absolute 
necessity  of  a  settlement  of  the  arrears  question, 
which  will  leave  no  recurring  sore  connected  with 
it  behind,  and  which  will  enable  us  to  show  the 
smaller  tenantry  that  they  have  been  treated  with 
justice  and  some  generosity.  The  proposal  you 
have  described  to  me,  as  suggested  in  some  quar- 
ters, of  making  a  loan,  over  however  many  years 
the  payment  might  be  spread,  should  be  abso- 
lutely rejected,  for  reasons  which  I  have  already 
explained  to  you.  If  the  arrears  question  be 
settled  upon  the  lines  indicated  by  us,  I  have 
every  confidence — a  confidence  shared  by  my 
colleagues — that  the  exertions  which  we  should 
be  able  to  make,  strenuously  and  unremittingly, 
would  be  effective  in  stopping  outrages  and  in- 

258 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  259 

timidation  of  all  kinds.  As  regards  permanent 
legislation  of  an  ameliorating  character,  I  may  say 
that  the  views  which  you  always  shared  with  me, 
as  to  the  admission  of  leaseholders  to  the  fair- 
rent  clauses  of  the  Act,  are  more  confirmed  than 
ever.  So  long  as  the  flower  of  the  Irish  peasan- 
try are  kept  outside  the  Act  there  cannot  be  the 
permanent  settlement  of  the  Land  Act  which  we 
all  so  much  desire.  I  should  also  strongly  hope 
that  some  compromise  might  be  arrived  at  this 
Session  with  regard  to  the  amendment  of  the  ten- 
ure clauses  of  the  Land  Act.  It  is  unnecessary 
for  me  to  dwell  upon  the  enormous  advantage  to 
be  derived  from  the  full  extension  of  the  purchase 
clauses,  which  now  seem  practically  to  have  been 
adopted  by  all  parties.  The  accomplishment  of 
the  programme  I  have  sketched  out  to  you  would, 
in  my  judgment,  be  regarded  by  the  country  as  a 
practical  settlement  of  the  land  question,  and 
would,  I  am  sure,  enable  us  to  co-operate  cordially 
for  the  future  with  the  Liberal  party  in  forwarding 
Liberal  principles  ;  and  I  believe  that  the  Govern- 
ment at  the  end  of  the  Session  would,  from  the 
state  of  the  country,  feel  themselves  thoroughly 
justified  in  dispensing  with  further  coercive  meas- 
ures. 

"  Yours,  truly, 

"Chas.  S.  Parnell." 


260  CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL. 

The  President. — To  whom  is  that  letter  ad- 
dressed ? 

The  Attorney-General. — It  is  addressed  to 
"  My  dear  Mr.  O'Shea.'' 

The  President. — The  witness  says  that  the 
whole  of  the  letter  was  not  read  by  Mr.  ParnelL 

The  Attorney-General. — The  letter  is  dated 
from  Kilmainham  on  the  28th  of  April,  1882.  It 
was  in  Mr.  ParnelFs  handwriting,  and  is  signed 
by  him,  and  is  addressed  to  Mr.  O'Shea.  When 
the  letter  was  first  read  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons by  Mr.  Parnell  some  words  were  left  out, 
were  they  not  ? — Yes. 

Do  you  recollect  which  words  they  were  that 
were  left  out? — Yes,  they  were  these: — "And 
would,  I  am  sure,  enable  us  to  co-operate  cordially 
for  the  future  with  the  Liberal  party  in  forwarding 
Liberal  principles  **  in  measures  connected  with 
Ireland.  Mr.  Parnell  read  from  a  copy  I  gave 
him.  A  few  minutes  afterwards  the  omission  was 
challenged  by  Mr.  Forster,  and  I  read  the  omitted 
passage. 

The  Attorney-General. — However,  were  the 
omitted  words  contained  in  the  letter  which  was 
signed  by  Mr.  Parnell  ? — Yes. 

And  within  a  few  minutes  after  the  first  part 
of  the  letter  was  read  in  the  House  of  Commons 
the  omitted  portions  were  read  also? — Yes. 

In  fact,  they  together  appear  on  the  same  page 
of  "Hansard"?— Yes. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  261 

I  am  afraid  I  must  go  back  to  one  matter  that 
has  escaped  my  recollection.  Do  you  recollect 
Mr.  Parnell  mentioning  any  names  of  persons  to 
whom  he  would,  after  your  departure,  make  a 
communication  ? — Yes ;  he  said  he  would  make  a 
communication  to  Mr.  Dillon  and  Mr.  O'Kelly. 
He  said  that  he  would  let  them  know  as  much  as 
was  good  for  theju. 

Do  you  recollect  any  other  references  which  he 
made  to  his  fellow-prisoners  at  that  time  ? — No. 

When  you  came  back  to  London  did  you  give 
a  letter  to  Mn  Forster  on  the  30th  ? — Yes  ;  on 
Sunday  morning,  which  I  believe  was  the  30{h. , 

Did  you  continue  negotiations  on  the  basis  of 
what  had  passed  between  you  and  Mr.  Parnell  on 
your  return  to  London  ? — Yes. 

Do  you  remember  it  being  determined  to  re- 
lease Mr.  Parnell  and  some  of  his  fellow- 
prisoners,  such  as  Mr.  Dillon  and  Mr.  O'Kelly? 
—Yes. 

,  They  were  released  on  the  night  of  Tuesday, 
the  2d  of  May  ? — ^Yes.    ., 

Had  you  any  communication  between  your 
interview  at  Kilmainham  and  the  6th  of  April 
with  regard  to  Mr.  Davitt's  release  ? — With  Mr. 
Parnell  when  he  returned  to  London. 

How  soon  after  his  return  to  London  did  you 
communicate  with  him  ? — Very  soon  after ;  I  think 
on  the  Thursday  morning. 

When  he  returned  to  London,  did  he  come  and 
see  you  ? — Yes. 


262  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

What  did  he  say  to  you  ? — I  told  him  that  Mr. 
Davitt  was  to  be  released,  and  he  said  to  me  that 
it  would  be  inexpedient  that  he  should  be  released 
until  he  saw  him,  and  asked  me  to  see  the  proper 
authority  on  the  subject. 

As  to  what?— As  to  Mr.  Davitt's  release  being 
postponed  until  he  should  be  able  to  go  down  and 
see  him  personally. 

Did  you  do  so  ? — ^Yes. 

Did  Mr.  Parnell  on  the  same  occasion  when  he 
came  and  saw  you  say  anything  further  about 
Sheridan  ? — Yes. 

What  did  he  ask  you  to  do  as  regards  Sheridan? 
— He  asked  me,  when  I  saw  the  proper  authority 
on  the  subject  of  deferring  Mr.  Davitt's  release, 
at  the  same  time  to  get  the  warrant  which  was  out 
against  Sheridan  cancelled. 

The  two  matters  which  Mr.  Parnell  spoke  to 
you  about  when  he  came  to  see  you  were,  first, 
the  deferring  the  release  of  Mr.  Davitt  until  he 
had  seen  him,  and,  secondly,  the  cancelling  of 
the  warrant  which  was  out  against  Sheridan  i^ — 
Yes. 

Did  anything  more  of  importance  occur  on  that 
occasion  ?— I  cannot  remember  now. 

Now,  answer  this  question,  yes  or  no.  Did 
you  make  a  communication  to  the  authorities  as 
to  Mr.  Davitt's  release  being  delayed  ? — Yes. 

Do  you  remember  the  date  fixed  until  when  his 
release  was  to  be  delayed  ? — Yes  ;  it  was  Satur- 
day, the  6th. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  263 

Did  you  communicate  to  Mr.  Parnell  the 
result  of  your  interview  with  the  authorities? — 
Yes,  with  respect  to  Mr.  Davitt  and  Sheridan. 

Did  Mr.  Parnell  subsequently  go  down  to 
Portland  ? — Yes. 

With  whom  ? — I  think  with  Mr.  Dillon. 

On  the  morning  of  Saturday,  the  6th? — Yes. 

Did  anything  else  of  importance  pass  between 
you  and  Mr.  Parnell  after  that,  prior  to  the 
Phoenix  Park  murders  ? — I  do  not  recollect. 

Did  Mr.  Parnell  come  to  you  on  the  Sunday 
morning? — Yes;  at  No.  i,  Albert-mansions. 

At  what  time  on  the  Sunday  morning  did  Mr. 
Parnell  come  to  you  ? — It  was  early  in  the  day ;  I 
do  not  recollect  the  exact  hour. 

Do  you  recollect  that  day  a  manifesto  being 
referred  to  ? — Yes. 

How  many  interviews  did  you  have  with  Mr. 
Parnell  on  that  day  ? — Several. 

Do  you  recollect  going  to  see  Mr.  Hamilton  at 
Mr.  Parnell's  request  ? — Yes. 

Wno  was  Mr.  Hamilton  ? — He  was  secretary  to 
Mr.  Gladstone. 

Did  Mr.  Parnell  say  whom  he  had  seen  about 
the  manifesto  ? — Yes ;  he  told  me  all  about  the 
matter. 

Tell  us  what  he  said. — He  said  the  manifesto 

had  been  drawn  up.     I  do  not  know  that  I  saw  it 

before  he  showed  it  to  me  at  Mr.  Chamberlain's 

house, 
ir 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  265 

At  what  time  of  the  day  was  that? — In  the 
afternoon. 

Did  he  say  by  whom  it  had  been  drawn  up  ? — 
Yes  ;  by  Mr.  Davitt,  and  that  it  was  a  mistake  for 
me  to  suppose  that  he  was  not  in  favor,  of  the 
manifesto,  as  he  was  in  favor  of  it,  as  it  was 
necessary  to  pander  to  Mr.  Davitt's  vanity ;  but 
he  added  that  I  must  draft  it. 

Oh,  I  see;  he  objected  to  the  English  of  it. 
It  was  the  bombast  of  the  document  he  objected 
to  ?— Yes. 

Do  you  recollect  on  one  of  these  occasions 
on  that  day  Mr.  Parnell  saying  anything  about 
himself? — Yes,  he  spoke  of  the  danger  in  which 
he  was. 

When  was  that? — That  was  in  a  cab  on  the 
way  back  from  Mr.  Chamberlain's  house. 

Do  you  remember  what  he  said? — Yes,  he 
said  he  was  in  personal  danger,  and  asked  me  to 
get  police  protection  for  him. 

Did  you  do  anything  for  him  ? — Yes. 

What?" — When  I  returned  to  Albert-mansions 
I  found  there  a  request  that  I  should  go  to  Sir 
William  Harcourt  immediately,  and  I  went. 

Did  you  make  any  communication  to  Sir 
William  Harcourt  in  reference  to  police  protec- 
tion ?- — Yes. 

Do  you  know  whether  it  was  granted  ? — Yes. 

Was  any  one  else  present  besides  Sir  William 
Harcourt  when  you  made  that  request  ? — I  do  not 
recollect,  but  I  rather  think  his  son  was. 


266  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Just  answer  this  question,  yes  or  no — ^Was  a 
communication  made  to  you  by  Sir  William  Har- 
court  the  same  day  with  reference  to  the  with- 
drawal of  the  warrant  against  Sheridan  ? — Yes  ; 
that  was  what  he  had  sent  for  me  for.  He  told 
me — 

You  must  not  tell  me  what  he  told  you.  Just 
answer  the  question,  yes  or  no,  because  I  am  sup- 
posed to  know  what  you  can  say  and  what  you 
cannot  say.  Did  you  have  an  interview  with  Mr. 
Parnell  afterwards  ? — Yes. 

Did  you  say  anything  to  him  about  the  Sheridan 
difficulty  ? — Yes. 

What  did  you  say  ? — I  told  him  that  I  had  been 
informed  that  Sheridan,  whose  warrant  was  can- 
celled on  the  previous  Thursday  at  my  request, 
was  a  murderer  and  a  concocter  of  murder,  that 
the  police  had  informed  the  Home  Secretary  of 
the  fact  that  he  could  not  be  allowed  to  remain 
in  this  country  without  arrest,  but  that,  having 
been  informed  of  that,  I — having  been  the  cause 
of  his  warrant  being  cancelled — had  begged  that 
he  should  be  given  at  least  "  short  law.'*  I  said 
that  he  must  be  communicated  with  immediately. 
Mr.  Parnell  told  me  that  he  had  no  communica- 
tion with  him  directly,  but  knew  a  person  who 
could  communicate  with  him,  and  he  went  out  for 
the  purpose  of  seeing  that  person. 

Did  he  say  who  it  was  ?  Did  he  mention  the 
name  of  the  person  ?— -No. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  267 

How  long  was  he  gone? — He  was  gone  for 
some  time. 

What  did  he  say  when  he  came  back? — He 
said  that  he  thought  that  it  was  all  right. 

Did  you  learn  from  Mr.  Parnell  who  was  the 
person  who  could  communicate  with  Sheridan  ? — 
1  do  not  remember.     I  do  not  think  so. 

Now  will  you  look  at  the  signature  to  that  let- 
ter dated  the  15  th  of  May,  1882? 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Is  that  the  alleged  Parnell 
letter  ? 

The  Attorney-General. — Yes.  In  whose  hand- 
writing do  you  say  that  signature  is? — I  know 
nothing  about  signatures. 

I  know  you  are  not  ain  expert.  But  as  far  as 
you  can  say — in  whose^  handwriting  do  you  be- 
lieve that  signature  to  be  ? — It  appears  to  be  Mr. 
Parneirs  signature. 

Now  just  look  at  the  two  letters  of  the  i6th 
of  June,  1882.  Whose  signatures  do  you  believe 
these  to  be  ? — I  believe  them  to  be  Mr.  Parnell's. 

Can  you  tell  me,  did  the  occurrence  of  the 
Phoenix  Park  murders  appear  to  affect  Mr.  Par- 
nell's health  ? — ^Yes,  I  think  they  did.  They  cer- 
tainly affected  his  spirits. 

What  was  the  condition  of  his  nerves  and 
health  about  this  time  and  for  a  month  or  five 
weeks  afterwards  ? — I  can  only  say  that  he  was 
very  much  dispirited  by  what  had  occurred. 

Now  just  look  at  this  document  of  the,  9th  of 
January,  1882. 


268  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

The  President. — What  is  this  document  and 
the  letters  of  the  i6th  of  June?  I  do  not  carry 
their  nature  in  my  mind. 

The  letters  were  the'n  handed  up  to  the  Presi- 
dent. Subsequently,  the  witness's  attention  was 
again  called  to  the  letter  of  January  9,  1882,  and 
he  said, — I  believe  the  signature  to  be  that  of  Mr. 
Parnell. 

The  Ati^orney-General. — ^Just  look  at  these 
other  three  documents.  Their  contents,  my 
Lord,  are  not  material.  They  are  put  in  merely 
for  the  sake  of  the  handwriting.  (To  witness.) 
Now  take  those  three  letters  in  your  hand  and 
tell  us  whose  handwriting  you  believe  them  to  be  ? 
— I  believe  them  to  be  Mr.  ParnelPs. 

Where  are  you  now  engaged,  Mr.  O'Shea— in 
what  business  or  place  ? — I  am  not  engaged  in 
business,  but  I  am  engaged  on  business  in  Mad- 
rid. 

Are  you  obliged,  to  leave  England? — Yes,  it 
would  be  very  inconvenient  if  I  were  detained 
here,  or  if  I  had  to  come  back  for  the  purpose  of 
attending  the  Commission. 

Is  your  business  in  Madrid  pressing  ? — Yes. 

The  President. — Now,  Sir  Charles. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — The  latter  part  of  the  wit- 
ness's evidence,  my  Lords,  has  come  upon  me  by 
surprise — namely,  that  part  which  relates  to  the 
opinion  of  this  witness  as  to  the  signatures  to  the 
letters,     I  would  suggest  whether  it  would  not  be 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  269 

convenient  to  go  at  once  into  the  whole  case  of 
the  letters.  It  will  be  possible  for  me  in  a  day  or 
two  to  cross-examine  this  witness  and  thus  save 
the  necessity  of  his  returning  from  Madrid. 

The  President. — I  understand  your  difficulty,  is 
due  to  the  evidence  as  to  the  handwriting. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Not  wholly,  my  Lord.  I  own 
I  could  not  ask  Mr.  O'Shea  to  come  back  to  be 
cross-examined  as  to  that  part  only. 

The  Attorney- General. — May  I  make  one  ob- 
servation in  reference  to  this  application  ?  I  shall 
not  for  one  moment  .oppose  any  suggestion  in 
this  matter  that  your  Lordships  think  reasonable, 
but  I  do  respectfully  submit  that  to  postpone  the 
cross-examination  of  this  witness  without  some 
ground  being  shown  is  very  inconvenient.  My 
statement  as  to  Mr.  O'Shea's  evidence  was  made 
on  Tuesday  or  Wednesday  last,  and  I  submit  that 
no  adequate  ground  has  been  shown  for  post- 
poning this  cross-examination. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  have  not  made  the  appli- 
cation to  your  Lordships  idly  or  without  a  full 
recognition  of  my  responsibility  in  making  it.      _. 

The  President. — I  think  it  right  to  state  that, 
so  far  as  the  examination  has  proceeded,  we  are 
unable  to  see  any  reason  why  the  cross-examina- 
tion should  be  postponed.  In  a  matter  of  this 
kind,  however,  we  are  obliged,  and  we  are  usually 
justified,  to  rely  on  the  statement  made  by  coun- 
sel.    If  Sir  Charles  Russell  says  that  he  is  not  in 


270  CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL. 

a  position  to  cross-examine  now,  we  feel  bound  to 
grant  his  application,  but  it  is  right  that  I  should 
point  out  that  if,  from  any  unforeseen  causes,  we 
should  not  have  the  advantage  of  this  witness's 
attendance  again,  his  evidence  must  be  taken 
without  the  cross-examination. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — There  can  scarcely  be  a  ques- 
tion as  to  obtaining  this  gentleman's  presence 
except  under  circumstances  beyond  human  con- 
trol.    He  lives  and  is  a  resident  in  London. 

The  President. — It  is  not  necessary  to  enter 
into  any  discussion.  I  have  stated  the  view  of 
the  Court  on  this  point. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  feel  that  we  should  have  a 
clear  understandino-.  Am  I  to  understand  that 
the  power  of  the  Court  will  not  be  used  to  com- 
pel the  attendance  of  Mr.  O'Shea  at  a  later 
stage  ? 

The  President. — We,  of  course,  would  use  the 
powers  of  the  Court  to  compel  the  attendance  of 
a  witness  if  necessary.  But  I  must  repeat  that 
if,  from  any  unforeseen  cause,  his  attendance 
cannot  be  procured,  his  evidence  already  given 
must  be  taken  as  un-cross-examined. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  hope  I  am  not  unduly 
pressing  the  Court  in  asking  for  an  assurance 
that  the  ordinary  powers  of  the  Court  will  be 
used  to  enforce  the  attendance,  if  necessary,  of 
Captain  O'Shea  for  cross-examination. 

The  President. — I  have  already  said  so.     The 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  271 

Court  will  exercise  its  powers  to  enforce  the 
attendance  of  an)^  witness  it  deems  necessary. 

Witness. — Might  I  make  a  statement,  my 
Lords  ? 

The  President. — With  regard  to  your  attend- 
ance? 

Witness. — Yes.  I  would  ask  that  no  unreason- 
able delay  should  take  place.  It  would  be  very 
hard  on  me  to  be  kept  here. 

Sir  .  C.  Russell. — I  have  already  made  a  prop- 
osition which  I  thought  might  be  considered  by 
my  learned  friend.  I  did  not  know  this  witness 
was  to  give  evidence  on  the  genuineness  of  the 
letters. 

The  President. — You  say  that  this  evidence 
has  surprised  you,  Sir  Charles  Russell ;  but  your 
application  for  the  postponement  of  the  cross- 
examination  was  made  before  that  evidence  was 
given. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — That  is  so.     But 


The  President. — I  cannot  see  why,  because 
some  unexpected  evidence  has  been  given,  you 
cannot  cross-examine. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — If  the  whole  case  with  regard 
to  the  letters  was  gone  into,  then  in  two  or  three 
days  I  would  be  ready  to  cross-examine  the  wit- 
ness. Perhaps  my  learned  friend  could  say  when 
he  proposes  to  take  that  part  of  the  case. 

The  Attorney-General. — I  cannot  make  any 
statement  on  that  point.     We  will  lay  the  evi- 


272  CHARLES  STEWART   PARNELL. 

dence  before  your  Lordships  as  far  as  we  can  in 
proper  order.  I  have  applied  to  your  Lordships 
to  take  this  witness  out  of  the  proper  order  because 
he  is  obliged  to  leave  England.  It  is  altogether 
unreasonable  of  my  learned  friend  to  ask  me  to 
enter  into  any  arrangement  or  bargain. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  ask  for  no  bargain. 

The  President  (to  witness). — When  do  you 
propose  to  leave  London  ? 

Witness. — That  depends  on  your  Lordships.  I 
did  propose  to  leave  to-morrow. 

The  President. — When  do  you  propose  to 
return  ? 

Witness. — I  would  return  when  your  Lordships 
wish — at  your  Lordships*  convenience.  But  I 
should  prefer  to  wait  here  until  after  my  cross- 
examination. 

The  President. — It  appears  to  me,  Sir  Charles, 
that  you  should  prepare  yourself  within  the  next 
few  days  to  cross-examine  this  witness. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  should  be  in  no  better 
position  then  than  now  unless  the  Attorney- 
General  is  prepared  to  accede  to  my  suggestion. 
I  am  afraid  your  Lordships  do  not  fully  appreciate 
my  difficulty. 

The  President. — ^You  have  something  in  re- 
serve that  you  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  disclose 
now  ? 

Sir  C.  Russell, — I  do  not  say  that  exactly,  my 
Lord. 


CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL.  273 

The  President. — I  can  do  no  more  than  repeat 
what  I  have  said.  We  shall,  of  course,  insist 
upon  Mr.  O'Shea's  return  if  it  appear  necessary 
to  do  so.  But  if  from  any  accident  whatever  he 
is  not  here  when  we  desire  his  presence,  we  shall 
deal  with  the  evidence  he  has  already  given. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Does  your  Lordship  say  that 
it  will  be  a  matter  within  your  Lordship's  dis- 
cretion whether  Captain  O'Shea  shall  be  required 
to  return  ? 

The  President. — Certainly,  certainly. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Then,  my  Lords,  under  those 
circumstances  I  must  go  on. 

The  President.— Very  well. 

Sir  C.  Russell  then  proceeded  to  cross-exam- 
ine the  witness : — 

When,  Mr.  O'Shea,  were  you  first  applied  to  by 
The  Times  to  be  a  witness  in  this  case  ? — On  the 
3d  of  August. 

What  are  you  reading? — Merely  certain  ex- 
tracts from  my  diary. 

Let  me  see  them.  Was  it  by  letter  that  you 
were  applied  to? — Indirectly.  I  was  asked 
whether  I  had  any  objection  to  give  information  to 
The  Times, 

By  whom  were  you  asked  ? — A  letter  was  writ- 
ten by  Mr.  Buckle. 

Have  you  got  it  ? — No.  It  was  not  to  me ;  it 
was  to  Mr.  Chamberlain. 

Did  Mr.  Chamberlain  see  you  ?-^-Yes ;  but  I  do 

18 


274  CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL. 

not  think  he  was  asked  to  see  me.     I  went  to  see 
him  on  another  matter. 

Where  ? — To  his  house. 

On  what  business  ? — To  talk  over  the  attack 
made  by  Mr.  Parnell  on  Mr.  Chamberlain  and 
myself  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

What  was  the  date  of  that  attack  ? — The  3 1  st 
of  July,  I  think. 

In  the  present  year  ? — Yes. 

And  you  went  to  consult  with  Mr.  Chamberlain 
as  to  what  course  he  ought  to  take  ? — Yes. 

^  To  talk  over  matters  and  consider  whether  you 
ought  to  make  some  answer  in  the  public  Press 
or  he  in  the  House  of  Commons? — No;  I  had 
already  written  to  The  Times,  and  my  letter  ap- 
peared on  the  2d  of  August. 

And  in  the  course  of  talking  over  the  matter 
of  Mr.  ParneH's  attack  on  you  and  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain he  introduced  Mr.  Buckle's  letter  ? — Yes  ;  he 
told  me  he  had  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Buckle. 

Did  he  show  you  the  letter  ? — I  am  not  quiet 
sure. 

Will  you  swear  he  did  not  ? — I  do  not  think  he 
did.  I  am  not  sure  whether  he  showed  it  to  me 
to  read  or  not. 

What  was  in  the  letter? — Whether  I  should 
mind  giving  evidence  in  the  case. 

What  date  do  you  give  for  that  ? — The  first 
days  of  August.     I  should  think  the  3d. 

Was  it  in  reference  to  this  Commission  or  to 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  275 

"  O'Donnell  v.  Walter  "  ? — Oh,  in  reference  to  this 
Commission.  "  O'Donnell  v.  Walter  "  had  been 
over  for  a  long  time. 

Did  you  agree  to  give  that  evidence  ?     No. 

When  did  you  agree  to  give  evidence  ?  After 
I  had  been  subpoenaed  by  Mr.  Parnell. 

When  were  you  subpoenaed  by  Mr.  Parnell  ? — 
On  Thursday,  the  23d  of  August. 

Then  did  you  see  Mr.  Chamberlain  after  that? 
No  ;  Mr.  Chamberlain  had  left  town. 

Did  you  communicate  with  him  ? — -Certainly. 

You  professed  your  readiness  to  give  evidence 
for  The  Times? — Yes,  on  the  24th  of  August.  I 
said  I  would  do  so  in  order  to  have  an  opportu- 
nity of  refuting  the  slanders  circulated  about  me 
by  Mr.  Parnell  and  his  friends  in  regard  to  these 
letters. 

Then  you  volunteered  to  give  evidence  in  order 
to  have  an  opportunity  of  refuting  these  slanders, 
you  say  ? — Certainly. 

It  was  a  matter  of  personal  concern  to  your- 
self?— Yes,  of  great  personal  concern. 

To  whom  did  you  make  that  communication  ? 
—To  Mr.  Buckle. 

Direct  ? — No. 

Through  whom  ? — Through  Mr.  Houston. 

Who  is  Mr.  Houston  ? — He  is  a  journalist. 

Connected  with  any  paper  .'^ — I  do  not  know. 

Where  does  he  live  ? — In  Cork-street,  London. 

Are  his  initials  E.  C.  ? — I  think  so. 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  277 

Is  he  secretary  to  the  Loyal  and  Patriotic 
Union  ? — I  do  not  really  know. 

Have  you  not  heard  that  he  is  ? — I  do  not  know 
that  I  have.     I  have  an  idea  that  he  is. 

Is  not  this  the  union  that  is  supported  by  a 
combination  of  Irish  landlords — I  will  not  call  it  a 
landlords'  land  league — but  is  it  not  somethingr  of 
that  nature  ? — I  know  nothing  about  it.  I  have 
seen  its  pamphlets,  but  I  do  not  know  how  it  is 
supported.' 

How  did  you  come  to  be  in  communication 
with  Mr.  Houston  ? — Mr.  Houston  called  on  me 
on  Sunday,  the  12th  of  August. 

In  the  present  year  ? — Yes. 

Was  that  your  first  acquaintance  with  him? — I 
had  known  him  before. 

Did  he  tell  you  his  connection  with  this  matter? 
— ^Yes ;  he  told  me  that  he  was  very  anxious  that 
I  should  give  information  on  the  political  part,  of 
the  question  to  himself  or  Mr.  Buckle. 

Did  he  tell  you  how  he  came  to  speak  to  you 
in  the  matter? — No. 

Did  you  ask  him? — He  said  he  called  on  the 
part  of  Mr.  Buckle. 

^  Did  you  ask  him  in  what  character  or  capacity  ? 
No.  I  knew  he  was  interested  in  the  case  of  The 
Times. 

Did  you  ask  him  whether  he  had  anything  to 
do  with  the  publication  or  with  the  letters  ? — I  did 
not. 


278  CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL. 

Have  you  seen  him  since  that  interview? — ^Yes, 
I  have  seen  him  several  times  since. 

In  reference  to  this  matter  ? — Yes. 

Did  you  make  a  statement  to  him  of  your  evi- 
dehce  ? — Yes.  It  was  he  who  took  down  the 
statement  of  my  evidence  for  Mr.  Buckle. 

Was  that  taken  down  at  one  interview  or  sev- 
eral ? — I  think  it  was  taken  down  at  one  interview. 

Can  you  give  me  the  date  of  that  ? — I  think  it 
was  the  day  on  which  I  asked  The  Times  to  sub- 
poena me — the  24th  of  August  last. 

You  gave  that  statement  to  Mr.  Houston,  and 
he  took  it  down  ? — Yes,  in  shorthand. 

Did  you  speak  to  Mr.*Houston  about  the  case  ? 
Yes,  in  a  cursory  way. 

Did  he  produce  the  letters  to  you  ? — No. 

Or  speak  to  you  about  the  letters  ? — I  should 
say  he  must  have  spoken  about  the  letters. 

Did  he  speak  about  the  letters  more  than  once  ? 
— I  have  no  doubt  he  did. 

Did  he  tell  you  what  part  he  had  to  do  with  the 
letters  ? — No. 

Did  you  ask  him  how  the  letters  had  been  ob- 
tained ? — Yes.  He  told  me  it  was  a  State  secret 
in  The  Times  office.  I  would-ask  you  to  allow  me 
to  turn  back  and  give  a  fuller  answer  to  a  ques- 
tion you  put  to  me  a  few  moments  ago.  You 
asked  me  what  he  told  me  about  the  letters.  He 
told  me  that  he  had  heard  that  Mr.  Parnell  and 
his  friends  had  stated  that  I  was  engaged  in  a  con- 


.  CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  279 

spiracy  to  get  these  letters,  and  that  it  was  through 
me  that  they  were  got.  As  I  have  never  stabbed 
a  man  in  the  back,  I  was  naturally  very  anxious 
to  come  here  and  state  on  my  oath  that  this  state- 
ment was  not  true. 

Then  Mr.  Houston  told  you  there  were  rumors 
about  you  ? — Yes, 

,Not  only  about  you,  but  others  ? — Yes. 

When  did  he  tell  you  that? — He  spoke  about 
the  matter  several  times, 

18 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

WHEN   O'SHEA   HEARD   THE    SLANDERS. 

BUT  he  told  you  this  at  the  first  interview  ? — 
I  told  him  that  I  knew  that  these  slanders 
were  being  circulated. 

Did  he  refer  to  this  at  the  first  interview  ? — 
Most  probably. 

Did  you  learn  from  him  whether  The  Times 
had  got  the  letters  all  in  one  batch  or  separately  ? 
—No. 

Did  you  ask  him  ? — No. 

When  did  you  first  hear  of  these  slanders  ? — I 
returned  home  in  July,  and  heard  the  matter 
spoken  about  then.  I  think  I  heard  first  of  the 
matter  as  an  absolute  certainty  on  August  i,  when 
Mr.  Chamberlain  told  me  that  Mr.  John  Morley 
had  informed  him  of  it. 

What  did  Mr. Chamberlain  say  ?— That  Mr.  Par- 
nell  believed  that  I  had  had  something  to  do  with 
procuring  what  is  generally  called  the  fac-simile 
letters.     I  am  not  perfectly  certain  whether  this 

280 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  .  281 

occurred  on  the  ist,  2d,  or  3d  of  August,  but  it 
was  on  one  of  those  days. 

Whom  else  have  you  seen  from  The  Times  in 
addition  to  Mr.  Houston  since  this  question 
arose? — I  have  met  Mr.  Buckle  at  dinner.  It 
was  on  Auofust  2 2d  at  the  Hotel  Previtali. 

Who  were  there  beside  yourself  and  Mr. 
Buckle  ? — Sir  Roland  Blennerbasset. 

Who  else  ?^ — No  one  else. 

Were  you  the  host  or  the  guest  ? — I  was  the 
guest ;  Sir  R.  Blennerhasset  was  the  host. 

He  was,  I  believe,  formerly  member  of  Parlia- 
ment for  Kerry,  and  one  of  Mr.  Butt's  Home 
Rule  party  ? — Yes. 

He  has  not  been  in  Parliament  since  1885  I  be- 
lieve ? — I  think-  that  is  so.  * 

Did  you  discuss  at  all  on  that  occasion  the 
question  where  these  letters  had  come  from  ? — 
No,  I  do  not  remember  that  they  were  mentioned ; 
but  if  so,  there  was  no  discussion. 

Do  you  know  the  name  of  Pigott? — Yes,  I 
know  the  name. 

What  is  the  Christian  name  ? — I  do  not  know. 

You  know  the  person  to  whom  I  allude  ? — I 
suppose  you  allude  to  a  former  editor  of  a  news- 
paper in  Dublin. 

Quite  so.  I  am  told  his.  Christian  name  is 
Richard.     Is  that  so  ? — Yes,  I  believe  it  is. 

Did  you  hear  his  name  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  these  letters  ? — ^Yes. 


282  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Did  you  learn  from  Mr.  Houston  that  he  had 
obtained  them  from  Pigott  ? — No.  What  I  heard 
was  that  it  was  said  that  I  had  entered  into  some 
combination  or  conspiracy  to  get  these  letters 
with  Pigott.  No ;  I  am  not  quite  certain  of  that, 
I  think  he  was  one  of  those  who  were  named,  but 
I  am  not  certain. 

What  did  he  say  about  Pigott? — I  do  not  re- 
member anything  particular  that  he  said  besides 
what  I  have  just  told  you. 

What  did  he  say  about  Pigott  in  relation  to  the 
letters  ? — He  said,  if  he  mentioned  Pigott's  name 
— of  which  I  am  not  certain — that  the  report 
spread  about  was  that  I  was  connected  with  some 
men,  of  whom  Pigott  was  one,  to  obtain  these 
letters. 

Was  any  other  name  mentioned  ? — Yes ;  Mr. 
Philip  Callan,  whom  I  have  not  spoken  to  for  four 
years. 

Did  he  say  anything  pro  or  con  as  to  Pigott's 
connection  with  the  matter  ? — Not  that  I  remem- 
ber. 

Then  the  suggestion  was  that  there  were  ru- 
mors that  you  and  Pigott  and  Mr.  Callan  and 
another  person  had  to  do  with  the  letters  ? — ^Wait 
a  moment ;  you  are  going  too  far  with  the  name 
of  Pigott.  I  do  not  remember  for  certain  that 
Pigott's  name  was  mentioned,  that  he  was  men- 
tioned as  being  one  of  the  confederates  who  ob- 
tained the  letters. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  283 

You  personally  do  not  know  PIgott  ?  To  the 
best  of  my  belief  I  have  never  seen  him.  I  cer- 
tainly do  not  know  him. 

The  other  gentleman — Mr.  Callan — you  have 
not  spoken  to  for  several  years  ?  Not  for  five  or 
six  years. 

Did  Mr.  Houston  tell  you  that  he  had  taken 
Pigott  to  the  solicitor  for  The  Times?     No. 

Do  you  know  that  he  did  ?     No. 

Do  you  say  that  Mr.  Houston's  communication 
to  you  with  respect  to  the  letters  amounted  to 
nothing  beyond  what  you  have  told  us  ?  Nothing 
more. 

He  made  no  statement  about  the  origin  of  the 
letters  or  as  to  who  was  the  medium  in  their  pas- 
sage to  The  Times?    .No. 

He  made  no  statement  as  to  who  took  the  let- 
ters to  The  Times  ?     I  am  sure  he  did  not. 

At  no  time  ?    To  the  best  of  my  belief  he  did  not. 

Do  you  know  who  took  them  ?     No. 

Have  you  been  told  who  brought  them  ?     No. 

Now,  having  had  this  letter,  was  that  before  or 
after  the  date  when  you  made  your  statement  ? 
it  was  before  I  made  the  statement.  On  the  1 5th, 
the  Wednesday  before,  I  had  seen  Houston  again, 
and  I  told  him  that  I  might  tell  Mr.  Buckle  the 
political  matter.  But  even  then  I  withdrew  the 
offer  on  the  1 7th. 

When  finally  did  you  come  to  an  agreement? 
On  Friday,  August  24th. 


284  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Where?  I  went  to  Houston's  room,  at  3  Cork 
Street,  and  he  took  down  from  me  in  shorthand 
the  accounts  of  the  Kihnainham  Treaty. 

When,  if  at  all,  did  you  go  to  Mr.  Soames  ? 
On  Wednesday  last  for  the  first  time,  to  ask  when 
I  should  be  called. 

Did  you  hand  the  documents  to  which  you  have 
referred  to-day  to  Houston  ?  Yes ;  but  they  never 
left  my  possession. 

You  mean  that  you  showed  them  to  him,  keep- 
ing possession  of  them?  I  do  not  think  I  showed 
all  of  them.  I  showed  those  to  which  the  Attor- 
ney-General has  referred  to-day. 

You  told  my  learned  friend  in  your  examina- 
tion-in-chief that  you  were  in  Parliament  in  1884 
and  1885  as  member  for  Clare.  At  the  last  elec- 
tion for  Clare  you  were  not  supported  by  Mr. 
Parnell?     No. 

Did  you  complain  that  he  had  treated  you  un- 
fairly ?     Yes. 

Broken  faith  with  you  ?     Yes. 

In  not  supporting  you  ?     Yes. 

Can  you  tell  me  when  the  members  of  the  Irish 
party  agreed  to  the  arrangement  which,  I  believe, 
is  generally  called  the  pledge — the  arrangement 
as  to  sitting  and  acting  together  ?  No,  I  do  not 
remember. 

Was  it  not  in  October,  1885,  j^st  before  the 
election  ?     I  should  say  that  was  very  probable. 


CHARLES  StEWARt  PAR  NELL.  285 

You  declined,  I  think,  to  take  that  pledge  ? 
Certainly. 

I  am  told  it  was  not  in  October,  but  it  was 
before  the  election.  You  declined  to  accede 
to  the  arrangements,  and  in  November,  1885, 
you  stoodfor  the  Exchange  Division  of  Liverpool  ? 
Yes. 

Were  you  supported  at  your  election  by  Mr. 
Parnell?     Yes. 

As  we  know,  that  was  a  short  Parliament? 
Yes  ;  it  was  dissolved  after  the  rejection  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  Home  Rule  scheme. 

In  the  spring  of  1886  you  stood  for  Galway? 
Yes. 

And  you  were  supported  by  Mr.  Parnell  ?    Yes. 

Against  the  wishes  of  some  of  his  colleagues  ? 
Yes. 

You  gave  an  assurance  that  you  would  act  with 
the  Irish  members  ?  I  agreed  with  Mr.  Parnell 
without  giving  any  pledge.  It  was  arranged  that 
I  should  contest  Galway  as  a  Liberal,  that  I  should 
go  there  and  receive  his  support,  and  that  I  should 
not  sit  with  his  party  for  a  short  time.  During 
the  heat  of  the  contest  he  telegraphed  to  Colonel 
Nolan,  asking 

Oh,  we  cannot  have  that.  '  But  you  asked  me. 
He  telegraphed  to  ask  whether,  if  he  came  to 
Galway,  I  would  allow  him  to  say  that  I  would  sit 
on  the  same  side  of  the  House  as  one  of  the 
party. 


286  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

And  you  were  returned  for  Gal  way  by  means  of 
his  assistance  ?  Yes,  and  Immediately  wished  to 
resign  on  account  of  that  pledge. 

When  did  you  resign  ?  I  resigned  on  the  day 
after  the  division  on  the  Home  Rule  Bill. 

Had  you  made  an  application  for  the  Chlltern 
Hundreds  ?     Yes,  at  that  time. 

Do  you  recollect  when  the  Home  Rule  Bill 
went  to  a  division  on  the  second  reading?  No ; 
but  I  should  think  on  June  8th. 

You  did  not  vote  on  that  occasion  ?     No. 

You  walked  out  ?  Of  course  I  did,  as  I  did  not 
vote. 

I  mean  you  had  not  paired  ?     No,  I  had  not. 

As  you  have  told  us,  you  committed  suicide  to 
save  yourself  from  slaughter ;  you  resigned  ? 
That  is  your  comment  upon  my  action. 

'But  it  is  a  fact,  is  it  not?  I  do  not  know.  I 
resigned  because  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  resign. 
Nobody  knew  for  certain  that  there  would  be  a 
dissolution 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CAPTAIN    o'sHEA's   RESIGNATION. 

Give  me  the  date  of  your  resignation.  The  day 
of  the  division  on  the  second  reading  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Home  Rule  Bill,  or  the  day  before.  The 
date  of  the  notice  as  to  the  Chiltern  Hundreds 
was  the  day  after  the  division. 

Did  you,  in  the  beginning  of  1886,  state  that 
certain  persons  knew  that  Mr.  Parnell  had  paid 
for  the  escape  of  tHe  Phoenix  Park  murderers  ? 
No,  I  do  not  think  I  said  that.  I  said  that  it  had 
been  stated  not  of  the  Phoenix  Park  murders,  but 
of  one  Byrne. 

You  stated  that  people  had  said  so.  On  what 
date  ?     I  do  not  remember  the  date. 

Who  stated  it?  It  was  told  me,  I  believe,  in 
the  first  instance  by  a  man  called  Mulqueeny,  and 
I  inquired  into  the  statement.  The  statement  had 
reference  to  a  letter  acknowledging  a  check  which 
has  since  come  out.  I  caused  inquiries  to  be 
made  as  to  whether  the  statement  was  correct, 
and  I  understood  that  it  was  not.  I  understood 
that  the  authorities  had  had  no  such  letter. 
287 


288  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Who  is  Mulqueeny  ?  He  is  an  Irishman  resi- 
dent in  London,  who  assisted  me  greatly  when  I 
was  canvassing  an  East-end  constituency  for  a 
friend  of  mine.  I  met  him  at  a  meeting  in  White- 
chapel. 

What  is  he  ?  I  think  he  is  employed  as  a  clerk 
by  one  of  the  dock  companies. 

He  told  you  this,  then  ?  I  think  he  told  me 
first.     I  am  not  sure  as  to  the  date. 

Who  else  told  you  ?     I  do  not  remember. 

Am  I  to  understand  that  any  one  else  told  you, 
or  that  you  do  not  remember  whether  any  one 
did?  I  think  you  must  take  it  that  I  do  not  re- 
member. 

It  is  a  very  serious  statement.  Yes  ;  but  I  in- 
vestigated it  and  found  that  the  authorities  knew 
nothing  about  it. 

Who  were  the  other  persons  besides  Mul- 
queeny?    I  do  not  remember  anybody  else.  ^ 

Was  there  anybody  else?  I  may  have  made 
inquiries  of  others,  but  I  cannot  remember. 

I  want  to  get  to  the  bottom  of  this  matter.  I 
want  to  know  from  whom  you  heard  this  state- 
ment besides  Mulqueeny,  if  from  anybody.  I 
cannot  say  that  I  heard  it  from  anybody  else, 
although  I  have  the  idea  that  I  did. 

Can  you  say  when  you  first  heard  it  ?  I  have 
just  told  you  that  I  cannot  fix  the  date. 

Was  it  before  you  heard  the  story  from  Mul- 
queeny ?     I  have  said  that  I  have  no  recollection 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  289 

of  hearing  it  from  anybody  else.     I   cannot  go 
further  than  that. 

Was  the  first  statement  from  Mulqueeny?  I 
should  say  so. 

You  say  you  investigated  the  matter  ;  to  whom 
did  you  apply  ?     I  asked  Mr.  Chamberlain. 

Any  one  else?  Through  him  the  Minister 
of  the  department  which  had  to  do  with  the 
matter. 

Did  you  yourself  apply?  I  do  not  remember. 
I  heard  that  nothing  was  known  of  the  letter. 

When  Mulqueeny  made  this  statement,  what 
did  he  say  ?  He  said  that  a  letter  had  been  taken 
from  the  Land  League  rooms  in  Palace-chambers 
— a  letter  from  Byrne  acknowledging  the  receipt  of 
money  from  Mr.  Parnell. 

Taken  by  whom  ?  He  believed  that  it  had  been 
taken  by  the  police.  It  was  on  that  account  that 
I  asked  for  information. 

Mulqueeny  told  you  nothing  more  ?  I  do  not . 
remember. 

Then  he  told  you  that  the  police  had  taken  a 
letter  from  the  Land  League  chambers  in  London, 
which  purported  to  be  a  letter  from  Byrne  ac- 
knowledging the  receipt  of  money  ?  Not  quite 
that.  He  said  that  a  letter  had  been  taken  by  the 
police  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  money. 

I  do  not  desire  to  press  you  unduly  upon  this 
point,  but  I  may  have  to  press  you  upon  it  later 
on.     Try  and  fix  as  nearly  as  you  can  the  dafe 


290  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

when  that  communication  was  made  to  you.    I  do 
not  think  I  shall  be  able  to  fix  the  date. 

Try  and  fix  the  time  of  }  ear.  I  do  not  think  I 
can  go  any  further. 

Surely  you  can  tell  us  what  the  year  was  ?  No, 
I  really  cannot. 

How  long  ago  ?  I  cannot  say.  You  see  the 
matter  did  not  impress  itself  much  upon  my  mind 
when  I  heard  that  the  authorities  had  not  got  the 
letter. 

Do  you  know  Mulqueeny's  address  ?  No.  He 
called  upon  me  recently  and  told  me  that  he  had 
left  his  house. 

When  did  he  call  ?  Within  the  last  few  days. 
I  think  on  Saturday  last. 

Did  you  believe  the  information  to  be  correct  as 
to  the  payment  to  Byrne  ?  As  I  have  intimated, 
when  we  inquired  into  the  matter  and  found  that 
the  letter  was  not  supposed  to  be  in  the  hands  of 
the  authorities,  I  did  not,  I  presume,  pay  much 
more  attention  to  it.' 

Did  you  ever  see  that  letter  from.  Byrne  ?  No, 
except  in  the  newspapers. 

Yes,  but  not  the  original  letter  ?     No. 

It  was  after  that  statement  by  Mulqueeny  that 
you  became  a  candidate  for  Galway  ?  I  should  say 
that  was  so,  certainly. 

Well,  of  course,  you  could  not  have  believed 
this  statement  about  Mr.  Parnell  at  that  time? 
Oh,  no,  certainly  not. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  29 1 

You  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  not 
true  ?     I  have  no  doubt  of  it. 

I  believe  Mr.  Parnell  did  go  to  Galway  to  speak 
for  you  ?     He  did. 

After  your  inquiry  whether  such  a  letter  had 
been  obtained,  did  you  tell  Mulqueeny  the  result 
of  your  investigation  ?     I  certainly  didr 

How  did  you  make  appointments  with  Mul- 
queeny?    He  used  sometimes  to  call  upon  me. 

Casually  or  by  appointment?  Generally,  I 
should  think,  casually,  if  I  had  not  some  election- 
eering for  him  to  do. 

Electioneering,  where?  In  the  East-end  of 
London.  Mr.  S.  Montagu,  member  for  White- 
chapel,  is  a  personal  friend  of  mine,  arid  I  was 
anxious  to  secure  his  return.  It  was  at  one  of  his 
meetings  that  I  first  heard  of  Mulqueeny. 

You  are  not  able  to  charge  your  recollection 
with  having  heard  about  the  Byrne  letter  from 
anybody  besides  Mulqueeny  ?    No,  I  am  not  able. 

Did  you  ever  hear  from  Mulqueeny  how  the 
Byrne  letter  w^as  supposed  to  have  been  got  from 
the  office  ?  ,  Yes,  how  he  supposed  it  had  been 
got. 

You  found  that  the  statement  was  not  correct  ? 
I  inquired  whether  the  letter  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  authorities,  and  the  person  applied  to  replied 
that  he  had  no  knowledge  of  the  document. 

If  it  had  been  taken  by  the  police  the  fact 
of  its  existence  would  have  been  known  in  the 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  293 

department  where  you  applied?    I  suppose  so;  I 
do  not  know. 

You  told  Mulqueeny  that  it  was  not  known  in 
that  department  ?     Yes. 

Did  you  discuss  at  all  how  it  could  have  been 
obtained  ?     I  have  heard. 

Is  Mulqueeny  a  member  of  any  secret  society? 
I  do  not  know.  He  is  a  NationaHst.  Whether 
he  is  a  member  of  a  secret  society  of  course  I 
cannot  tell.  He  has  told  me  that  he  .was  an 
advanced  Nationalist. 

Did  he  ever  tell  you  that  he  was  a  member  of 
a  secret  society  ?     He  never  told  me  that  he  was. 

He  conveyed  it  to  you,  then  ?  He  told  me  that 
he  was  an  advanced  Nationalist  and  at  one  time  a 
member  of  the  Land  League. 

Did  you  see  him  anywhere  else  than  in  your 
own  place?  Yes,  at  meetings  when  canvassing 
the  constituency  in  the  East-end. " 

Only  there  ?     Only  there. 

Do  you  know  the  house  of  a  Mrs.  Lynch  in 
Wardour  Street?  It  is  very  likely  that  I  have 
been  there  once. 

I  ask  you,  do  you  know  the  house  ?  I  am  not 
certain  that  the  woman's  name  is  Lynch;  but  I 
was  once  in  a  house  in  Wardour  Street. 

What  is  the  house  remarkable  for?  In  what 
way? 

In  any  way  ?  I  do  not  know  what  it  is  remark- 
able for. 


294  CHARLES  STEWART,  PARNELL. . 

How  did  you  come  to  go  there  ?  I  went  there 
because  a  number  of  advanced  Nationalists  had 
signed  a  declaration  protesting  against  my  exclu- 
sion from  Irish  politics,  and  I  was  told  that  I  should 
meet  some  of  them  there. 

The  President. — I  understand  that  this  house 
is  a  public  house  ? 

Witness. — Yes,  my  Lord. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — When  you  use  the  phrase 
''advanced  Nationalists,"  do  you  mean  to  convey 
to  the  Court  that  these  persons  were  Fenians?  I 
mean  to  convey  that  they  were  members  of  the 
old  Nationalist  party. 

Do  you  mean  to  convey  that  they  were  Fenians  ? 
They  never  told  me  that  they  were. 

Is  that  the  impression  in  your  own  mind?  I 
was  never  told  that  they  were  Fenians. 

You  believe  they  were  ?  I  do  not  know 
whether  they  were  or  not. 

You  say  they  signed  a  testimonial  to  you? 
No,  a  declaration  protesting  against  my  exclusion 
from  politics.  Mulqueeny  brought  the  declara- 
don  to  me,  and  it  was  with  him  that  I  went  to  this 
house. 

Were  you  there  only  once  ?     Only  once. 

Whom  did  you  meet  there  ?  I  cannot  remem- 
ber. 

These  persons  who  made  the  presentation 
complained  of  your  exclusion  from  politics  ?    Yes. 

Were  they  all  residents  in  this  country?     I  do 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  295 

not  know.  The  men  of  their  party  in  the  county 
of  Clare  were  always  great  supporters  of  mine 
and  very  much  devoted  to  me.  They  were  the 
old  Nationalists.  I  always  told  them  how  foolish 
I  thought  their  adventures  were,  but  they  hated 
outrages  as  much  as  I  do  myself 

Surely  these  men  were  ex-Fenians.  Was  that 
society  pretty  strong  in  Clare  ?      I  do  not  know. 

Can  you  form  any  opinion?  No;  I  have  no 
means  of  forming  an  opinion. 

Were  there  any  signatures  of  persons  residing 
in  Paris  to  that  document?  I  do  not  know.  I 
am  sorry  I  did  not  bring  the  parchment  to  court 
with  me. 

Were  there  any  signatures  from  foreign  parts  ? 
I  cannot  say ;  I  have  not  seen  the  parchment  for 
some  time. 

Was   the   signature  of  a  man  called   Patrick 
Casey  among  them?     I  do  not  remember;   but 
you  will  have  the  document. 
,   The  Attorney-General. — Bring  it  with  you 
to-morrow,  please. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Do  you  recognize  the  name  ? 
I  do  not  remember  whether  or  not  the  name  is 
on  the  document. 

Do  you  know  who  Patrick  Casey  is  ?  No,  I  do 
not. 

Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  have  never  heard 
of  him  ?  No,  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that ;  but  I 
have  no  knowledge  of  Him.    I  have  never  seen  him. 

19 


296  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Do  you  know  that  he  is  a  professed  dynamitard? 
No,  I  do  not. 

Do  you  not  know  that  Mulqueeny  went  to 
Paris  to  get  the  signature  of  that  man — aye  or  no? 
Well,  now  that  you  mention  it,  I  think  it  is  possi- 
ble.    I  do  not  remember  it,  but  it  is  possible. 

Did  you  send  him  for  that  purpose  ?  No,  I  did 
not. 

Have  you  given  Mulqueeny  money?,  I  have 
often  given  him  money. 

Did  you  pay  the  expenses  of  his  journey  to 
Paris  ?     I  should  think  not. 

Do  you  say  "No?"  It  is  very  likely  if  he 
asked  me  for  the  money  afterwards  that  I  paid  it. 

Do  you  recollect  that  he  asked  you  ?     No. 

What  did  you  give  Mulqueeny  money  for?  I 
took  a  liking  to  the  man.  He  was  extremely  use- 
ful to  me  at  the  time  of  the  election  and  I  liked 
him  and  his  father,  and  when  they  wanted  money 
I  gave  it  to  them.  I  have  very  often  given  money 
to  Irishmen. 

Did  you  meet  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Lynch  any 
persons  besides  those  who  signed  this  paper  ?  I 
cannot  recollect  any  names,  but  I  remember  what 
occurred.  I  explained  my  views  upon  politics  and 
dwelt  on  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  sup- 
porting the  Liberal  party. 

Is  this  address  framed  and  glazed  ?  No ;  it  is 
on  parchment. 

Did  Mulqueeny  tell  you  whether  he  had  seen 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  297 

Casey  or  not  when  he  came  back  from  Paris  ?     I 
do  not  remember  the  name  of  Casey. 

Did  he  tell  you  he  had  been  over  ?  I  have  no 
doubt  he  did  ;  but  I  do  not  remember. 

What  did  he  tell  you  he  had  been  over  for  ?  It 
was  not  the  only  time  he  went  to  Paris. 

He  went  to  Paris  for  a  definite  purpose,  after 
which  you  paid  his  expenses?  That  I  paid  his 
expenses  is  not  so  likely  as  that  I  gave  him  a  lump 
sum  of  money. 

Now  I  have  asked  you  about  one  statement, 
the  statement  made  to  you  by  Mulqueeny  with 
reference  to  the  Byrne  letter.  Did  you  in  the 
winter  of  1885-86  make  any  other  statement,  or 
was  any  other  statement  made  to  you  ?  Of  what 
nature  ? 

Was  any  statement  made  to  you  by  any  one  in 
the  winter  of  1885  suggesting  that  there  were  let- 
ters compromising  Mr.  Parnell?  I  do  not  re- 
member. 

Did  you  hear  any  one  state  at  any  time  in  the 
winter  of  1885-86  that  there  were  some  American 
Fenians  in  London  who  were  hostile  to  Mr.  Par- 
nell, and  who  held  documents  supposed  to  com- 
promise him  ?  Do  not  answer  without  thinking. 
I  have  not  the  slightest  intention  of  doing  so.  I 
remember  perfectly  telling  Mr.  Parnell  that  I  had 
heard  there  were  Irish-Americans  in  London  at 
one  time,  but  I  have  no  recollection  whatever  of 
saying  that  they  were  hostile  to  him,  or  that  they 


298  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

held  compromising  documents.  I  may  have  said 
that  they  were  hostile  to  him,  because  I  believe 
they  were  hostile  to  him  ;  but  I  do  not  remember 
the  other  matter. 

You  believed  that  the  Fenian  body  were 
opposed  to  his  policy?  Well,  I  mean  the  men 
who  might  come  here  for  the  purpose  of  promo- 
ting outrages.  I  believed  Mr.  Parnell  to  be  abso- 
lutely free  from  any  connivance  at  outrage. 

You  believed  these  men  to  be  opposed  to  his 
policy?  Of  course,  if  his  policy  was  not  dyna- 
mite, and  they  came  over  with  dynamite,  they 
were  opposed  to  his  policy. 

You  believe  he  was  opposed  to  dynamite  ? 
Most  certainly,  I  believe  Mr  Parnell  was  opposed 
to  the  policy  of  dynamite  and  of  outrage.  Up  to 
the  end  of  June,  1886,  I  was  perfectly  confident 
that  Mr.  Parnell  was  a  man  of  the  highest  honor. 

And  were  perfectly  confident  that  he  had  a 
sincere  desire  to  follow  out  his  agitation  on  con- 
stitutional lines  ?  Certainly.  I  was  a  member  of 
his  party  myself.  It  is  only  within  the  last  two  or 
three  months  that  1  saw  a  correspondence  be- 
tween Mr.  Herbert  Gladstone  and  Mr.  Arnold 
Forster,  in  which  Mr.  Forster  stated  that  Mr.  Par- 
nell had  been  in  constant  communication  with 
Sheridan  at  the  time  that  Sheridan  was  organizing 
crime.  I  was  so  astounded  at  the  statement  that 
I  wrote  to  Mr.  Arnold  Forster  to  ask  him  about  it. 
I  did  not  believe  that  he  had  had  anything  to  do 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  299 

With  Sheridan.  He  told  me  so  often,  and  I  be- 
lieved it,  even  after  I  believed  nothing  else.  I  am 
now  speaking,  of  course,  with  regard  to  Sheridan 
only. 

Now,  I  wish  to  know  what  altered  your  opinion 
in  July,  1886?  Negotiations  took  place  at  that 
time,  previous  to  the  division  on  the  second  read- 
ing of  the  Home  Rule  Bill,  and  certain  things 
came  to  my  knowledge  at  that  time  which  abso- 
lutely destroyed  the  good  opinion  I  had  hitherto 
held  of  Mr.  Parnell. 

Tell  us  anything  whatever  with  regard  to  Sheri- 
dan which  came  to  your  knowledge.  Mr.  Parnell 
wishes  you  to  state  fully  anything ;  you  said  you 
changed  the  opinion  which  you  had  held  of  Mr. 
Parnell  up  to  June  and  July,  1886,  in  reference  to 
Sheridan.  No,  no;  I  changed  it  owing  to  some- 
thing which  came  out  during  these  negotiations  ; 
but  I  did  not  say  it  was  on  account  of  anything 
connected  with  Sheridan. 

I  beg  your  pardon.  You  said  you  had  told  him 
that  there  were  American  Fenians  in  London  who 
were  hostile  to  him. 

The  President. — He  has  never  used  the  word 
Fenians.  I  noticed  that  what  he  spoke  of  was 
American-Irish. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

ABOUT   ADVANCED    NATIONALISTS. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — ^When  you  talk  of  advanced 
Nationalists  do  you  not  mean  to  convey  the 
Fenians  ?  Not  necessarily,  because  there  are 
other  organizations — the  Clan-na-Gael  and  others. 

When  you  talk  of  the  old  Nationalists  do  you 
mean  the  old  Fenians  ?  Yes  ;  a  very  different 
class  of  men  from  the  dynamitards  and  Invincibles. 

Who  gave  you  the  information  that  there  were 
American-Irish  who  were  in  London  and  were 
hostile  to  Mr.  Parnell  ?  I  did  not  say  there  were 
American-Irish  here  who  were  hostile  to  him.  I 
did  not  qualify  it  in  that  way  ;  I  am  sure  I  should 
not  have  done  so.     I  do  not  know  who  told  me. 

Do  not  know  who  told  you?  Try  and  re- 
member. It  is  a  very  long  time  ago,  and  I  do  not 
suppose  that  I  attached  much  importance  to  it. 

But  we  do.  Who  told  you  ?  Very  likely  Mul- 
queeny  told  me  something  about  it.  It  might  have 
been  in  conversation.  I  believed  they  were 
hostile. 

Did  he  tell  you  where  they  were,  or  where  they 
were  staying  ?     No  ;  but  he  told  me  he  had  been 
threatened  by  one. 
3Po 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  3OI 

Did  you  make  any  further  inquiries  ?  ^  No. 

I  must  press  you  ;  did  you  not  tell  Mr.  Parnell 
at  the  time  I  refer  to — namely,  in  the  winter  of 
1885-86,  that  American-Irish  were  in  London  and 
had  letters  compromising  Mr.  Parnell  ?  I  will 
swear  that  I  did  not  say  anything  about  letters 
relating  to  Mr.  Parnell ;  that  is,  with  as  great 
certainty  as  a  man  can  swear  to  anything  so  long 
ago.  To  the  very  best  of  my  belief,  I  did  not  say 
anything  about  letters. 

You  say  that  Mulqueeny  told  you  that  one  of 
these  men  threatened  him  ?     Yes. 

Did  he  give  you  the  man's  name  ?     Yes. 

Go  on.  I  am  not  quite  sure  whether  he  told 
me  it  was  one  of  those  men,  or  another  man  who 
had  threatened  him. 

What  was  the  name  ?  I  think  he  mentioned  the 
name  of  a  General  Carroll  Thalis,  or  some  such 
name. 

As  being  one  of  the  men  in  London  ?  No,  as 
being  one  of  the  men  who  threatened  him. 

Who  was  the  other  ?     Not  an  American. 

What  was  his  name  ?  I  do  not  know,  but  I 
think  he  was  a  civil  engineer. 

Was  his  name  Hayes  ?     I  think  it  was. 

And  did  you  know  him,  sir  ?     Yes. 

Why  did  you  not  tell  us  at  once  ?  Because  it 
had  gone  out  of  my  head ;  I  was  not  certain. 

What  is  Hayes  ?  I  am  told  he  was  a  civil  engi- 
neer. 


302  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Is  he  an  American  ?  I  do  not  know  anything 
about  him. 

What  did  Mulqueeny  report  to  you  about  him  ? 
He  reported  to  me  that  he  had  seen  him,  had 
gone  to  see  him  at  an  hotel,  and  had  been 
threatened  by  him,  chiefly  about  the  testimonial 
made  to  me.  Mulqueeny  got  a  letter  telling  him 
to  go  and  see  him. 

Where  ?     I  think  in  Covent  Garden. 

The  Bedford  Hotel,  perhaps  ?     I  do  not  know. 

And  he  went  ?  Yes  ;  and  saw  this  man  or  men, 
and  they  threatened  him,  if  I  remember  rightly,  on 
account  of  this  testimonial  or  declaration  of  mine. 

Is  Hayes  an  Irish-American  or  not?  I  know 
nothing  about  him  except  that  I  have  been  told  he 
is  a  civil  engineer. 

Did  Mulqueeny  tell  you  what  he  was  ?  He 
told  me  that  he  was  a  civil  engineer. 

Well,  when  he  came  to  tell  you  this  story,  you 
asked  him  who  Hayes  was?  He  told  me  that 
Hayes  was  a  civil  engineer,  and,  I  believe,  estab- 
lished in  London. 

Well,  what  had  a  civil  engineer  established  in 
London  to  do  with  any  testimonial  presented  to 
you  ?  I  do  not  know.  I  presume  it  was  owing  to 
some  action  taken  by  some  of  my  enemies  who 
prevailed  on  these  people  to  act  in  this  way. 

I  am  asking  you,  did  you  not  inquire  from  Mul- 
queeny what  he  was  ?  He  told  me  he  was  a  civil 
engineer. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  303 

Did  you  not  ask  him  what  party  in  politics  he 
belonged  to  ?  He  told  me  he  was  a  very  violent 
man. 

Did  he  tell  you  that  Hayes  was  an  emissary 
from  New  York  ?  No  ;  I  think  he  told  me  that 
Hayes  lived  in  London. 

Did  you  see  Hayes  ?     No. 

Are  you  certain  ?     Yes,  I  am  certain  I  did  not. 

Did  you  know  he  was  supposed  to  be  implica- 
ted in  the  attack  on  London  Bridge?  Yes,  I  had 
heard  that. 

You  had  no  doubt,  I  suppose,  what  his  charac- 
ter was  ?  He  was  evidently  very  much  opposed 
to  me,  for  one  thing. 

Did  he  mention  any  other  name  to  you  ?  Yes, 
this  General  Carroll  Thalis,  or  whatever  his  name 
was. 

Any  other  name  ?     I  do  not  recollect. 

Do  you  recollect  the  name  of  Cassidy  ?     No. 

Do  you  know  anybody  of  that  name  ?     No. 

Did  you  visit  the  hotel  in  Covent  Garden? 
No,  I  did  not. 

Are  you  certain  ?     Yes,  I  am  certain  I  did  not. 

You  say  you  are  certain  that  you  did  not  visit 
any  hotel  in  Covent  Garden  at  that  time  ?  I  am 
certain — that  is,  with  regard  to  these  people.  I 
may  have  gone  to  an  hotel  in  Covent  Garden  in 
the  whole  of  that  year. 

In  reference  to  seeing  any  persons  whom  Mul- 
queeny  had  mentioned  to  you  ?     Never. 


304  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

What  hotel  do  you  suggest  that  you  went  to  ? 
I  did  not  suggest  that  I  went  to  any  hotel.  I  say 
that  in  the  whole  year  I  may^ossibly  have  called 
at  an  hotel  in  Covent  Garden.  The  reason  I 
stopped  to  guard  myself  in  this  matter  was  that  I 
remember  going  to  call  on  Mr.  Edward  Dwyer 
Gray  and  Mr.  Daniel  Gabbett  also,  at  an  hotel  in 
Covent  Garden. 

And  with  that  exception  you  did  not  call  at  an 
hotel  in  Covent  Garden  ?     I  swear  it. 

After  you  had  heard  from  Mulqueeny  of  the 
presence  of  this  General  Carroll  Thalis,  or  some 
such  name,  and  of  Hayes,  civil  engineer,  did  you 
send  Mulqueeny  to  Paris  ?  I  have  not  the  slight- 
est recollection  of  doing  so. 

Did  you  send  him  there  to  give  a  warning  to 
Casey?  No;  I  never  had  any  intention  of  warn- 
ing Casey. 

Did  you  send  Mulqueeny  to  give  a  warning  to 
Casey?     No,  certainly  not. 

Did  you  send  him  to  Paris  after  you  became 
aware  of  the  presence  of  the  American-Irish  in 
Covent  Garden  ?  I  cannot  remember  that  I  did 
anything  of  the  kind.  To  the  best  of  my  belief  I 
did  not 

That  is  a  thing  you  would  recollect.  You.  are 
positive  you  did  not,  are  you  ?  Yes,  I  am  posi- 
tive ;  I  have  no  recollection  of  doing  so  whatever. 

Are  you  able  to  say  positively  you  did  not? 
Yes,  I  say  positively  I  did  not. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  305 

It  IS  not  an  event  that  occurs  every  day,  to  send 
Mr.  Mulqueeny  to  Paris  ;  you  are  able  to  say 
positively  you  did  not  ?  Oh,  yes,  I  am  sure  I  did 
not. 

Have  you  kept  up  your  intimacy  with  Mul- 
queeny? Not  exactly  an  intimacy;  I  had  not 
seen  him  for  a  long  time,  until  some  months. ago, 
and  had  just  come  back  from  abroad  and  met  him 
in  Cannon  Street,  and  he  told  me  of  his  father^s 
death,  and  I  think  I  have  seen  him  since  then — 
once  in  July  and  twice  since. 

Since  the  political  events  of  1885-86,  Captain 
O'Shea,  when  you  tell  us  that  you  were  badly 
treated  by  Mr.  Parnell,  have  you  threatened  him  ? 
How  do  you  mean,  threatened  him — threatened 
Mr.  Parnell  ? 

I  am  not  talking  about  personal  violence.  Do 
you  mean  have  I  threatened  him  with  retribution  ? 

Threatened.  Answer  my  question.  No,  I  do 
not  know  that  I  have.  I  may  have  been  angry ; 
certainly  I  was  angry  with  him  when  I  turned  him 
out  of  my  room  in  the  Shelbourne  Hotel  in  Dub- 
lin ;  but  I  did  nothing  that  could  be  called  a  threat. 
That  incident  occurred  either  at  the  end  of  Oc- 
tober or  the  beginning  of  November,  1885. 

Will  you  just  explain  how  you  turned  Mr.  Par- 
nell out  of  your  room  ?  I  told  him  the  sooner  he 
went,  the  better  I  should  be  pleased,  and  that  I 
did  not  Want  to  see  him  again.  I  did  not  use 
any  force. 


306  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Have  you  said  you  would  be  revenged  on  Mr. 
Parnell  ?     I  do  not  remember  the  expression. 

Will  you  swear  you  did  not  ?  No ;  because 
one  says  so  many  things  when  one  is  angry  ;  but 
I  do  not  remember  saying  anything  about  revenge ; 
I  never  have  been  revenged,  at  all  events. 

Have  you  said  that  you  had  a  shell,  charged 
with  dynamite,  to  blow  him  up?  I  should  say 
not.     What  kind  of  shell  ? 

I  do  not  know.  I  am  not  suggesting  it  was 
really  dynamite.     Oh,  no. 

When  did  you  first  hear  of  the  letter  which  is 
called  the  fac-simile  letter  ?  When  I  saw  it  in 
The  Times  on  the  day  it  was  published.  I  saw  the 
letter  itself  for  the  first  time  last  Wednesday. 

I  presume  it  was  at  Mr.  Soames'  office  ?    Yes. 

And  you  had  not  heard  from  any  one,  until  that 
letter  appeared,  a  suggestion  made  (excluding  the 
Frank  Byrne  letter)  that  there  were  any  letters  in 
existence  compromising  Mr.  Parnell  ?  No,  I  was 
astounded  when  I  saw  it. 

At  this  point  the  Court  adjourned  for  luncheon. 
On  its  reassembling  Sir  Charles  Russell  continued 
his  cross-examination  of  Captain  O'Shea. 

You  were  understood  to  say  that  except  the 
statement  made  to  you  by  Mulqueeny,  which  rela- 
ted to  the  Byrne  letter,  you  had  heard  no  state- 
ment from  any  one  and  made  no  statement 
yourself  as  to  any  other  compromising  letters 
and    documents?      Then   I   was    not  distinctly 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  307 

understood.  I  never  said  that  I  had  not  spoken 
about  them. 

Am  I  to  understand  you  that,  though  you  can- 
not recollect  the  persons  or  person,  you  did  hear 
that  there  were  in  existence  compromising  docu- 
ments or  a  compromising  document?  Are  you 
talking  about  the  Byrne  letter  ? 

No ;  you  have  told  us  you  did  hear  of  that  let- 
ter. I  am  not  troubling  any  more  about  that.  My 
question  was,  first  of  all,  did  you  hear  from  any 
one  and  at  any  time  before  the  publication  of  the 
fac-simile  letter  that  there  were  in  existence  any 
letters  or  documents  of  a  compromising  char- 
acter ?  That  is  what  I  answered  you  before  I  left 
the  Court,  that  I  do  not  think  I  did  so. 

Is  it  that  you  do  not  recollect,  or  do  not  think, 
or  are  you  in  a  position  to  say  positively  that  you 
did  not  ?  I  am  as  positive  as  possible  that  I  never 
spoke  about  compromising  documents.  Nor  do  I 
remember  any  one  speaking  to  me  of  there  being 
in  existence  compromising  documents.  In  fact, 
in  other  words,  I  know  nothing  about  these 
letters. 

I  am  not  talking  about  these  letters  particularly. 
There  are  many  more.     Oh,  yes. 

Any  letters?  I  have  had  nothing  to  do  with 
any  letters. 

You  do  not  appreciate  my  point.  Did  you  until 
the  publication  of  the  fac-simile  letter  have  it 
suggested  to  you  by  any  one  that  there  were  in 


&^  ^ 


•V.«' 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  309 

existence  compromising  letters  ?     To  the  best  of 
my  belief,  no. 

Very  well,  you  are  pretty  positive  about  that  ? 
Yes. 

You  have  spoken  about  your  acquaintance  with 
the  advanced  Nationalists.  You  say  they  are  the 
old  Nationalist  party,  who  are  opposed  to  out- 
rage?    Certainly. 

The  Physical  Force  party  ?  The  men  who  con- 
sidered that  they  could  fight  their  country's  battle 
on  the  hillside  against  the  British  forces. 

They  were  not  persons  who  went  in,  or  pro- 
fessed to  go  in,  for  assassination  ?  On  the  con- 
trary, they  always  spoke  of  it  to  me  with  the 
greatest  abhorrence. 

Some  names  have  been  mentioned  here,  among 
others,  John  O'Leary.  Was  he  an  advocate  of 
assassination  ?  On  the  contrary,  as  far  as  I  am 
aware. 

Was  not,  in  point  of  fact,  the  policy,  if  it  can  be 
so  called,  of  that  Physical  Force,  or  Hillside  party, 
opposed  to  the  constitutional  party  altogether  ?  I 
mean  up  to  a  certain  point  ?     Most  decidedly. 

And  you  are  aware,  are  you  not,  that  for  years 
after,  in  fact,  up  to  the  present  time,  the  Fenians 
have  been  among  the  most  strenuous  opponents  of 
Mr.  Parnell's  party?  Certainly;  I  kept  them 
apart  as  long  as  I  could  in  county  Clare. 

How  do  you  mean,  '*  Kept  them  apart  in  county 
Clare?'*      I  pointed  out  the  folly  of  their  ideas, 


3IO  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

and  always  considered  It  well  that  they  should  not 
join  the  Land  League. 

Among  your  reasons  was  one  that  the  Land 
League  was  hostile  to  yourself?     Certainly. 

You  have  not  made  any  concealment  of  your 
influence  with  that  party  ?  I  do  not,  in  the  least, 
say  here,  or  ascribe  to  myself,  any  influence  with 
that  party.  What  I  do  say  is  that  there  are  a  num- 
ber of  men  in  county  Clare  who  have  not  only 
given  me  cordial  support,  but  have  shown  me  the 
greatest  personal  devotion.  I  am  always  proud  .of 
the  support  of  those  honest,  honorable  men. 

You  have  expressed  those  opinions  to  Mr. 
Chamberlain  ?  I  expressed  those  opinions  every- 
where. 

Then  probably  to  him  ?  Probably.  I  may  have 
expressed  them  to  you.  It  is  a  matter  of  such 
common  conversation. 

Up  to  May-June,  1886,  you  told  us  you  believed 
in  Mr.  Parnell's  honor,  and  that  you  knew  he  was 
opposed  to  outrage  ?     Certainly. 

And  you  stated  that  you  knew  he  was  opposed, 
and  always  had  been  supposed  to  be  opposed  to 
outrages.  You  continued  of  that  opinion  until  a 
much  later  date  ?     Yes. 

And  I  think  you  fixed  the  date  of  the  change  of 
opinion  upon  the  question  of  outrage  at  the  ap- 
pearance of  Mr.  Arnold  Forster's  letter?  No  ;  I 
await  the  judgment  of  the  Commission.  I  have 
quite  an  open  mind  upon  the  subject. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL,  3 1 1 

Then,  so  far  as  concerns  yourself,  you  have  not, 
so  far  as  Mr.  Parn ell's  attitude  towards  outrage 
is  concerned,  altered  your  opinion  ?  I  have  altered 
my  opinion  regarding  Mr.  Parnell,  and,  of  course, 
that  must  affect  a  man's  mind. 

20 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

CHAMBERLAIN^S   LOCAL   GOVERNMENT   SCHEME. 

Was  it  the  fact,  also,  that  in  the  Home  Rule  dis- 
cussion you  were  very  anxious  to  get  Mr.  Parn ell's 
support  for  the  modified  or  local  government 
scheme  of  Mr.  Chamberlain  ?     The  what  ? 

The  Home  Rule  scheme  of  Mr.  Chamberlain  ? 
No  ;  that  was  not  at  all  the  scope  of  any  nego- 
tiations at  the  time. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  am  not  talking  of  any  nego- 
tiation. Witness. — The  Home  Rule  Bill  had 
nothing  to  do  with  local  government. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Were  you  or  were  you  not  in 
favor  of  Mr.  Chamberlain's  local  government 
scheme?  The  local  government  scheme  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  question. 

The  President. — Are  the  witness's  opinions  on 
such  a  subject  material  to  our  inquiry  ? 

Sir  C.  Russell. — As  a  matter  of  opinion,  cer- 
tainly ;  as  a  matter  of  conduct,  no. 

Mr.  Justice  A.   L.  Smith. — ^Why,  as  a  matter 

of  opinion,  certainly  ? 
312 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  313 

Sir  C.  Russell.— Because  it  explains  the  po- 
sition he  took  up  ;  but  I  do  not  think  I  should  be 
asked  to  give  my  reasons  for  a  question  asked  in 
cross-examination  at  this  stage. 

The  President.— The  object  of  my  interposi- 
tion was  to  see  the  relevancy  of  the  question. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  do  not  think  it  irrelevant ; 
but  it  is  not  a  first-class  matter,  and  I  must  ask  par- 
don if  I  was  a  little  brusque  in  an  observation  I  made 
just  now.  All  I  want  to  do  is  to  explain  that  the 
question  put  to  the  witness  was  one  I  was  justified 
in  putting.  To  witness — You  took  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain's side  in  the  discussion.  You  declined  to 
vote  for  the  Home  Rule  Bill.  That  is  a  fact,  is  it 
not?  That  is  a  fact ;  but  not  for  the  reason  you 
have  just  stated. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  have  not  given  any  reason. 

Witness — You  suggested  the  matter  of  local 
government. 

Sir  C.  Russell.— Well,  were  not  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain's opinions  in  the  direction  of  a  Local  Govern- 
ment Bill  ?     Certainly  not. 

^  Very  well,  we  differ  about  that.  It  was  after 
the  incident  of  May-June,  1886,  that  you  altered 
your  opinion  of  Mr.  Parnell  ?     Yes. 

You  have  told  us  quite  candidly  you  are  await- 
ing the  judgment  of  the  Commission.  Am  I 
wrong  in  saying  that  you  made  a  reference  to  Mr. 
Arnold  Forster's  letter  ?  I  spoke  to  you  about  it 
in  the  course  of  my  cross-examination. 


314  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

In  which  you  stated  you  were  astonished  at  it  ? 
Yes.  So  much  so,  that  I  had  an  interview  with  him 
about  it. 

In  relation  to  your  negotiations  with  the  Govern- 
ment— when  did  those  begin  ?     In  the  year  1881. 

I  would  like  to  remind  you,  my  Lords,  who  may 
not  recollect  it,  the  state  of  things  was  that  there 
was  the  Coercion  Act  of  188 1  in  operation. 

The  Attorney-General. — You  mean  Mr. 
Forster's  Act  ? 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Certainly. 

The  Attorney-General. — ^The  suspension  of 
the  Habeas  Corpus  Act. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — It  was  not  generally  called 
that.  It  was  called  the  Protection  of  Life  and 
Property  Act.     Was  that  so  ?     Witness. — Yes. 

The  Land  Bill  that  afterwards  passed  was  under 
discussion  ?     Yes. 

You  are  aware  that  there  were  some  three  or 
four  very  important  points  for  which  the  Irish 
members  were  contending  in  relation  to  the  Land 
Bill.  First  of  all,  a  comprehensive  scheme  for 
arrears  ;  next,  that  the  improvement,  or  Healy 
clauses,  as  they  were  subsequently  to  be  called, 
should  be  framed  so  as  to  prevent  the  possibility 
of  the  tenants'  improvements  being  taxed ;  and, 
next,  the  inclusion  of  leaseholders.  Those  were 
three  important  points,  were  they  not?  Yes,  the 
last  I  considered  very  important,  indeed,  and  I 
supported  it  to  the  utmost  in  my  power. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  315 

However,  the  Bill  was  passed  without  any  of 
those  points  being  dealt  with  ?  The  Healy  clause 
was  there. 

Without  being  dealt  with  in  the  way  the  Irish 
members  wished?     Yes. 

There  was  another  point  they  were  anxious 
about — the  strengthening  of  the  Bright  clauses  of 
the  Act  of  1870,  so  as  to  enable  the  tenants  to 
more  easily  acquire  their  own  holdings?     Yes. 

When  you  entered  into  communication,  as  you 
call  it,  with  the  government,  was  that  with  Mr. 
Parnell's  knowledge  in  the  first  instance?  At  his 
request. 

In  the  first  instance  ?  Or  was  it  after  you  had 
written  ? 

Witness. — In  1 88 1  ? 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Yes. 

Witness. — What  I  offered  to  Mr.  Parnell  was 
that  if  the  Land  League  were  broken  up 

Those  words  were  put  forward?  I  am  not 
quite  sure. 

What  were  the  words  then?  The  chief 
condition  was  that  the  Land  League  should 
be  broken  up  on  condition  of  the  Irish  landlords 
reducing  their  rents  within  a  certain  time,  and 
that  they  should  get  compensation  from  the  Ex- 
chequer. 

Well  ?     That  was  the  principal  proposal. 

The  whole  proposal  at  that  time  ?     Certainly. 

By  letter,  was  it  not  ?     Certainly. 


3l6  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

At  all  events,  you  communicated  Mr.  Parnell's 
principal  point  by  letter  ?  Yes,  by  letter,  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  which  was  that  point.  I  do  not  say 
other  points  may  not  have  been  mentioned. 

That  was  a  letter  to  Mr.  Gladstone?     Yes. 

Do  you  suggest  the  phrase  was  used  of  *'  break- 
ing up  the  Land  League  "  ?  I  certainly  used  it  to 
Mr.  Gladstone — dissolve  the  Land  League. 

In  your  letter  ?  The  letter  was  written  after 
my  conversation  with  Mr.  Gladstone.  He  said,  'Tt 
is  a  very  serious  matter,  and  must  be  put  before 
my  colleagues."  He  said,  **  Put  it  down,"  and  I 
put  it  down. 

In  that  letter  ?     I  cannot  say. 

That  was  the  only  communication  you  had  with 
Mr.  Gladstone  ?     At  what  time  ? 

At  that  time.     Yes. 

All  the  rest  was  the  communications  which  re- 
sulted in  the  release  of  certain  persons  from  Kil- 
mainham  and  which  passed  through  yourself,  and 
your  principal  medium  of  communication  was  Mr. 
Chamberlain  ?  Oh,  yes,  but  Mr.  Chamberlain  did 
not  come  in  until  the  communications  were  put  on 
foot  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  when  I  re-opened  the  com- 
munications with  Mr.  Gladstone  in  1882  ;  and  it 
was  subsequent  to  this,  when  the  communications 
were  entertained,  that  Mr.  Gladstone  delegated  to 
Mr.  Chamberlain,  who  knew  nothing  about  the 
matter  before,  the  business  with  me.  I  use  the 
words  ** communications"  and  "business"  because 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  317 

I  believe  Mr.  Gladstone  objects  to  the  word  "  ne- 
gotiations." 

Sir  C.  Russell. — ^That  is  rather  what  I  put  to 
you — that  after  the  re-introduction  of  the  matter, 
the  renewed  negotiation  was  with  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain ?  Yes,  that  is  after  the  matter  was  taken  up 
again. 

What  date  do  you  fix  as  the  beginning  of  the 
renewal  of  these  negotiations  ?  An  early  date  in 
April. 

Was  that  renewal  without  any  communication 
with  Mr.  Parnell  ?     Yes. 

Or  without  any  communication  with  any  of  his 
colleagues  ?     Yes. 

Entirely  upon  your  own  motion  ?     Yes. 

And  the  first  intimation,  as  I  understand,  was 
made  to  Mr.  Parnell  on  the  occasion  of  his  being 
allowed  out  on  parole  to  attend  the  funeral  of  his 
relation  ?     Yes. 

Now,  as  regards  the  conversation,  I  think  you 
say  you  had,  I  wish  to  make  this  clear.  Is  it  not 
true  that,  when  you  mentioned  the  question  of  re- 
lease, Mr.  iParnell  said  that  that  must  not  even  be 
discussed,  or  in  any  shape  or  way  made  a  condi- 
tion? Certainly,  that  was  the  case,  and  on  the 
other  side  there  was  no  bargain.  Of  course,  one 
takes  those  things  with  a  grain  of  salt,  but  that 
was  the  declaration  on  both  sides. 

Did  not  you  understand  that  Mr.  Parnell  was 
most  anxious  as  to  the  peace  of  the  country,  and 


3l8  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELt^ 

that,  among  other  things,  the  Arrears  Bill  should 
be  settled  ?     Certainly. 

Is  it  not  the  fact  that  in  every  reference  that  he 
made  to  the  attempts  to  put  down  outrages  he 
referred  to  the  proposed  measure  of  the  Govern- 
ment as  one  which  would  help  to  tranquillize  the 
country  ?     Certainly. 

And  you  agreed  with  him  ?  Yes,  having  no 
knowledge  as  to  what  the  Land  League  was 
myself. 

Do  you  see  any  reason  to  differ  from  him  now  ? 
No,  and  I  have  had  codsiderable  experience  of 
Irish  tenants  myself 

What  was  the  date  at  which  the  memorandum 
in  Mr.  Chamberlain's  handwriting  was  written 
out ;  is  the  date  on  it  in  pencil  correct?  I  cannot  say. 

When  was  that  date  put  upon  it  ?  I  have  no 
doubt  at  the  time. 

The  Attorney-General. — What  is  the  date  ? 

Witness. — April  22,  1882.  It  must  have  been 
either  the  2 2d  or  23d. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Was  that  document  left  with 
you  ?     Yes. 

Did  you  interchange  any  copy  of  it  with  Mn 
Chamberlain  ?     No  ;  I  wrote  a  note  in  reply  to  it. 

Repeating  it  ?  Yes.  There  may  have  been  a 
little,  alteration  in  the  words,  but  substantially  the 
same. 

Now,  with  reference  to  the  discussion  at  Elthani, 
was  anything  discussed  between  you  except  the 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  319 

Arrears  Bill  ?  Oh,  yes  ;  there  must  have  been  a 
great  deal  more. 

Are  you  able  to  say  there  was  ?     Certainly. 

Was  that  the  principal  subject  of  discussion  ? 
The  Arrears  Bill,  the  general  arrangement,  and 
what  would  come  out  of  it.  ^ 

You  were  aware  that  Mr.  Parnell  had  drafted  in 
Kilmainham  a  Bill  dealing  with  that  question  ? 
Yes. 

That  was  the  Bill  which  was  introduced  on  a 
Wednesday?     Yes. 

When  he,  in  his  letter  of  April,  refers  to  Wed- 
nesday's proceedings  being  satisfactory  so  far  as 
they  went,  he  refers  to  that  Bill  ?  It  certainly 
meant  that. 

Did  it  mean  anything  else  than  that  ?  I  mean 
you  shook  your  head  as  if  there  was  something 
more.  Yes.  The  Arrears  Bill  was  not  the  only 
matter  of  discussion,  and  although  the  Bill  was 
brought  in  on  the  Wednesday  everything  was 
going  on  very  satisfactorily. 

No,  no.  He  says  **  Wednesday's  proceedings 
were  very  satisfactory  so  far  as  they  went.'*  That 
referred  to  the  Bill  introduced  on  the  Wednesday  ? 
Well,  not  only.  That  referred  to  the  way  in  which 
it  had,  by  arrangement,  been  received. 

Now,  whatever  the  discussions  between  you 
and  Mr.  Parnell  were,  they  were  ultimately  em- 
bodied in  that  letter  which  was  afterwards  read  in 
the  House  of  Commons  ?     Yes. 


320  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

That  is  the  document,  is  it  not,  which  you  your- 
self gave  to  Mr.  Parnell  ?  (The  document  was 
handed  to  the  witness.)  I  do  not  know  that  it  is. 
It  is  in  my  handwriting. 

Sir  C.  Russell.— Your  Lordships  will  recollect 
a  portion  of  the  letter  was  not  read.  It  is  headed 
"private  and  confidential,"  Kilmainham.  It  stops 
at  the  words  '*  outrages  and  intimidation  of  all 
kinds." 

The  President. — Without  the  reference  to  the 
Liberal  party  ? 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Yes. 

Sir  C.  Russell  then  read  the  letter  as  it  is  set 
out  above  down  to  the  words  *'  outrages  and  in- 
timidation of  all  kinds." 

Sir  C.  Russell. — At  that  discussion  do  you 
recollect  Mr.  Parnell  suggesting  it  would  be  far 
better  to  allow  him  and  his  colleagues  to  remain 
where  they  were  for  a  few  months  more  till  the 
Arrears  Bill  was  passed  ?     No. 

Did  he  say  it  ?     I  should  think  certainly  not. 

Do  you  say  that  he  did  not  ?  No.  I  do  not 
recollect  it. 

Did  not  Mr.  Parnell  tell  you,  and  did  not  you 
know  apart  from  his  telling  you,  that  the  "No-rent" 
manifesto  had  been  in  point  of  fact  a  dead  letter 
for  some  time? — No.  It  was  not  satisfactory  to 
myself  or  to  others  that  no  statement  had  been 
made  on  that  point. 

Did  Mr.  Parnell  state  to  you  that  in  point  of 


CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL.  321 

fact  the  "No- rent"  manifesto  had  been  for  a 
month  at  least  a  dead  letter  ? — I  do  not  remember 
his  saying  so  to  me  then. 

Did  he  say  so  to  you  in  Kilmainham  ? — Yes, 
certainly. 

You  have  said  that  Mr.  Parnell  especially 
stipulated,  or  desired  to  stipulate,  that  Mr.  Davitt's 
release  should  be  delayed  until  he  saw  him  ? — 
Certainly. 

Di^  he  tell  you  why  ? — Yes,  because  he  wanted 
to  see  him  before  anybody  else  did. 

Yes,  but  did  he  tell  you  why  ? — He  wanted  to 
see  Mr.  Davitt  before  anybody  else  did  in  order 
to  explain  to  him  the  situation  and  policy. 

Did  he  express  any  fear  that  Mr.  Davitt  might 
refuse  to  accept  his  release  on  a  ticket-of-leave  ? 
I  should  think  that  that  must  have  been  after- 
wards. 

I  ask  you  whether  that  was  not  so  at  the  time  ? 
— Certainly  nothing  of  the  kind.  The  statement 
he  made  was  what  I  have  just  said — that  he 
wanted  to  see  Mr.  Davitt  before  anybody  else 
did  in  order  to  talk  politics  over  with  him. 

I  am  asking  you  was  it  not  mentioned  by  him 
whether  Mr.  Davitt  would  accept  release  on 
ticket-of-leave  ? — No. 

You  are  clear  about  that  ? — Certainly. 

In  discussing  the  release  of  other  persons  who 
were  prisoners,  do  you  recollect  him  saying  any- 
thing about  the  desirability  of  his  being  able  to 


322  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

communicate  with  all  of  the  executive  of  the 
Land  League  together? — I  cannot  remember  any 
such  broad  statement  as  that. 

I  mean  those  men  of  whom  he  was  speaking? 
— I  do  not  remember  him  saying  he  wanted  to  see 
the  whole  of  the  executive  of  the  Land  League. 

I  mean  persons  more  or  less  in  authority  in 
the  League? — I  presume  they  were  not  all  in 
gaol. 

I  am  speaking  of  those  who  are  in  gaol.-^-He 
wanted  Egan  to  return  to  England  before  the 
release  of  Boyton  and  Sheridan. 

And  Brennan  ? — No. 

What  did  he  say  about  Brennan? — He  said 
there  were  some  men  it  would  be  advisable  not 
to  let  out. 

And  Brennan  was  one  of  them  ? — Yes. 

Who  else  ? — I  do  not  know. 

Did  you  ask  him  who  they  were  ? — Certainly  I 
did. 

What  did  he  say  ? — He  said  there  were  some 
men  it  would  be  injurious  to  let  out. 

Did  you  ask  him  who  they  were  ? — One  was 
Brennan,  but  I  do  not  remember  the  others. 

Were  there  more  than  one  ? — I  cannot  remem- 
ber the  name  of  anybody  except  Brennan.  I 
cannot  remember  how  many  there  were,  but 
there  were  more  than  one. 

Very  well.  I  think  you  stated  that  you  dis- 
cussed this  matter  with  Mr.  Chamberlain.     Have 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  323 

you  any  memoranda  ? — ^The  bulk  of  the  memo- 
randa relating  to  the  matter  were  destroyed  in 
1883,  at  a  time  when  there  was  a  danger  of  a 
Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons 
having  to  be  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  Kil- 
mainham  Treaty. 

Was  that  done  at  Mr.  ParnelVs  suggestion  ? — 
No. 

Or  Mr.  Chamberlain*s  ? — No. 

Or  yours  ? — No.  It  was  suggested  to  me  that 
it  was  politically  expedient  that  the  utmost  re- 
ticence should  be  kept  upon  the  subject. 

By  whom  ? — By  Sir  William  Harcourt.  (Loud 
laughter.)  He  stated  that  it  was  the  opinion  of 
another  person — Mr.  Gladstone. 

The  President. — ^This  is  the  first  occasion  on 
which  there  has  been  any  manifestation  of  feeling, 
and  I  take  the  opportunity  of  stating  that  I  must 
request  that  everybody  will  refrain  from  any 
exhibition  of  the  sort  in  the  future. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Was  it  then  that  you  de- 
stroyed the  memoranda  ? — Yes. 

How  is  it  that  you  have  the  memoranda  which 
passed  between  you  and  Mr.  Chamberlain? — A 
certain  number  of  the  memoranda  were  in  a  box, 
and  I  did  not  find  them  until  afterwards. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  lot  ? — Certainly  not 
the  most  important  to  me. 

Sir  C.  Russell,  to  the  Secretary. — ^Will  you 
give  me  the  letters  put  to  the  witness  on  the 


324  CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL. 

question  of  handwriting  ?  (To  witness.)  Would 
you  repeat  the  statement  about  Sir  William  Har- 
cou'rt  ?     My  learned  friend  behind  me  desires  it. 

Witness. — There  was  a  danger  impending  that 
the  government  would  have  to  agree  to  appoint  a 
Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  to 
inquire  into  the  circumstances  of  the  Kilmainham 
Treaty,  and  I  was  informed  by  Sir  William  Har- 
court  that  it  was  Mr.  Gladstone's  wish  that  I 
should  be  as  reticent  as  possible  on  the  matter,  as 
it  was  expedient  politically  to  be  so. 

Is  that  the  whole  of  the  matter  ? — Yes,  that  is 
the  whole  of  the  matter. 

And  upon  that  you  destroyed  the  documents  in 
your  possession  ? — Yes,  and  other  documents 
were  destroyed  also. 

'  Had  you  the  name  of  being  a  gabbler  or  a  bab- 
bler that  you  had  to  be  warned  to  be  reticent  ? 
Why  did  Sir  William  Harcourt  come  to  warn  you 
to  be  reticent  ? — That  you  had  better  ask  of  Sir 
William  Harcourt  himself.  (To  the  Commis- 
sioners.) My  Lords,  I  have  a  correction  I  should 
like  to  make.  On  thinking  over  some  of  the 
questions  of  Sir  Charles  Russell,  I  think  I  spoke 
rather  too  positively,  because  it  has  come  back  to 
my  mind  that  Mr.  Parnell  did  speak  of  the 
possible  refusal  of  Mr.  Davitt  to  accept  a  ticket- 
of-leave.  On  the  Thursday  I  went  to  Sir  William 
Harcourt  in  reference  to  Mr.  Davitt's  release 
standing  over  till  the  Saturday. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  325 

What  was  the  reason  given  for  postponing  Mr. 
Davitt's  release? — The  reason  given  for  that  was 
that  Mr.  Parnell  should  have  an  opportunity  of 
going  down  to  Dartmoor. 

Was  that  with  a  view  to  meet  the  possible 
objection  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Davitt  that  you  have 
mentioned  ? — It  is  possible  that  that  was  one  of 
the  reasons.  I  believe  the  real  reason  was  that 
Mr.  Parnell  wanted  to  see  Mr.  Davitt  before  he 
was  released. 

Was  that  the  reason  given  by  Mr.  Parnell  for 
his  journey  to  Dartmoor  ? — I  am  not  certain  that 
he  did  not  mention  that  as  a  reason.  It  was  not 
the  only  one. 

Did  he  give  any  other  ? — Yes,  that  he  wanted 
to  see  him  first. 

Have  you  ever  stated  with  reference  to  these 
negotiations  that  you  were  led  to  expect  that  you 
would  be  made  Chief  Secretary  for  Ireland? — 

No. 

Did  Mr.  Chamberlain  ever  promise  you  that 
you  would  be  made  Chief  Secretary  ? — No. 

Nor  intimate  it  to  you? — ^That  if  the  local 
government  scheme  had  been  adopted,  he  would 
have  thought  of  it. 

I  believe  a  baronetcy  was  spoken  of? — Never. 
I  have  never  heard  of  such  a  notion  before,  ex- 
cept from  some  scurrilous  speakers  in  Galway 
during  the  Galway  election.  I  never  made  any 
reference  to  such  a  thing  myself. 


326  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

You  have  corrected  one  serious  misstatement — 
namely,  the  statement  made  by  the  Attorney- 
General  that  Mr.  Parnell  was  opposed  to  signing 
the  manifesto  with  reference  to  the  Phcenix  Park 
murders.  That  is  not  true? — It  is  an  absolute 
mistake,  as  I  have  stated  just  now. 

On  the  contrary,  did  you  not  know  that  Mr. 
Parnell  was  so  stunned  and  shocked  by  that 
crime  that  he  was  actually  contemplating  retiring 
from  public  life  ? — Yes,  I  took  his  letter  to  Mr. 
Gladstone  that  morning  offering  to  retire  from 
public  life. 

You  knew  enough  of  the  political  situation  of 
the  moment  to  know  that  a  more  cruel  blow  at 
Mr.  Parnell's  policy  and  the  interests  of  the 
people  you  were  both  representing  in  Parlia- 
ment, could  not  have  been  struck? — So  I  con- 
sidered it. 

And  consider  it  so  still  ? — Certainly. 

How  many  letters  have  you  received  from  Mr. 
Parnell  altogether  ?  About  a  dozen  ? — Oh,  a 
great  many. 

How  many  would  you  say?— I  really  cannot 
say.     A  great  many. 

Have  you  received  a  dozen  ? — Yes,  certainly, 
and  a  great  many  more. 

Have  you  got  them? — No.  I  very  seldom 
keep  letters. 

Have  you  half  a  dozen  of  them? — No. 

Have  you  any  ?— Yes,  I  have. 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  327 

How  many? — I  do  not  know.  I  cannot  tell 
you. 

Two  or  three  ? — Yes,  more. 

You  say  you  have  received  a  dozen  letters  from 
Mr.  Parnell? — Certainly,  and  an  immense  deal 
more,  but  I  really  cannot  tell  how  many.  I  was 
on  intimate  terms  with  Mr.  Parnell  for  several 
years,  and  to  talk  of  only  a  dozen  letters  passing 
between  us  is  absolute  folly.  The  number  must 
have  been  largely  in  excess  of  that. 

When  were  you  first  asked  your  opinion 
about  the  handwriting  of  these  letters? — On 
Wednesday. 

By  whom  ? — I  went  to  Mr.  Soames*s  office,  and 
they  were  there  shown  to  me. 

With  whom  did  you  go? — By  myself  The 
letters  were  shown  to  me  by  a  gentleman  in 
the  office — probably  Mr.  Soames's  managing 
clerk. 

You  had  not  seen  the  originals  before  ? — Never. 
Of  none  of  them. 

^  Did  you  perceive  any  sign  of  any  attempt  at 
dissimulation  in  the  character  of  the  handwriting? 
—No. 

Did  all  the  letters  occur  to  your  mind  as  being 
natural  and  genuine  ? — Yes.  I  have  a  very  strong 
opinion  on  that. 

That  they  are  ? — Yes. 

Do  you  feel  equally  strongly  as  to  all  of  them? 

— I  observed  differences. 
21 


328  CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL. 

Will  you  take  them  in  your  hand  and  select 
those  of  the  batch  which  you  think  are  different  ? 
— I  may  say  that  I  had  no  intention  of  giving 
evidence  with  regard  to  these  letters  at  all. 

My  question  was  this — Does  the  signature  in 
any  one  of  these  letters  strike  you  as  being  more 
clearly  in  Mr.  Parnell's  handwriting  than  the 
others  ?  Or  is  your  evidence  equally  strong  as 
to  all  ? — I  believe  they  have  all  been  written  by 
Mr.  Parnell.  If  these  letters  had  come  to  me  I 
should  have  said  they  were  written  by  Mr.  Par- 
nell ;  but  I  am  really  no  judge  in  the  matter. 

I  am  not  asking  you  as  a  expert.  Does  it 
strike  you  that  there  are  any  of  these  letters  as 
to  which  you  would  have  a  stronger  opinion  than 
as  to  the  others  ? — I  think  they  are  written  by  Mr. 
Parnell,  and  I  cannot  say  any  more  than  that. 

My  question  is — Are  there  any  of  these  letters, 
or  signatures,  which  appear  to  you  more  strongly 
like  Mr.  Parnell's  handwriting  than  others?  If 
you  cannot  answer  the  question  say  so, 'and  I  will 
proceed — 

The  President. — May  I  be  allowed.  Sir  Charles, 
to  suggest  another  form  of  putting  the  question? 
Are  there  any  of  the  signatures  as  to  which  he 
has  any  doubt  ? 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Yes,  my  Lord,  but  I  should 
prefer  to  have  an  answer  to  the  question  as  I 
put  it. 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL. 

The  President. — You  are  referring  him  to  an 
imaginary  standard. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Quite  so,  my  Lord ;  but  it  is 
a  standard  which  each  man  forms  in  his  mind. 
(To  the  witness.)  What  do  you  say  ? — I  do  not 
know.     As  I  have  said,  I  am  not  an  expert. 

No,  and  I  am  not  going  to  trouble  you  to  enter 
into  a  minute  criticism  of  the  writing.  I  want  to 
know  whether  your  opinion  is  equally  strong 
upon  every  one  of  the  letters? — Yes,  I  under- 
stand the  question,  but  my  difficulty  is  in  answer- 
ing it.  I  think  the  handwriting  is  Mr.  ParneH's, 
and  I  cannot  say  more  than  that. 

I  will  repeat  the  question  once  more.  Do  all 
the  letters  seem  to  you  to  be  equally  unmistak- 
ably in  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Parnell,  or  are 
there  any  that  strike  you  as  less  likely  to  be  so 
than  others? — I  cannot  answer  the  question. 
They  all  seem  to  me  to  be  in  his  handwriting. 

Very  well.  Now,  you  recollect  the  appearance 
of  the  fac-simile  letter  in  The  Times? — Yes. 

Have  you  ever  discussed  with  any  one  the 
question  of  how  The  Times  got  it?— I  have  often 
spoken  about  it,  but  I  have  never  discussed  with 
any  one  how  The  Times  got  it,  because  I  do  not 
know. 

Not  even  how  they  might  have  got  it  ? — I  have 
heard  various  statements  made  about  it  in  con- 
versation. 


830  CHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL. 

Just  tell  US  what  they  were  ? — I  cannot,  really. 
It  is  impossible. 

Tell  us,  in  substance,  what  where  the  sugges- 
tions you  discussed  and  made  as  to  how  The 
Times  got  the  letter. — I  have  seen  various  theories 
started  about  it  in  the  newspapers. 

What  were  they  ? — I  do  not  know  now. 

Have  you  ever  made  any  suggestion  on  the 
subject  yourself? — No. 

Did  you  hear  any  suggestion  made  as  to  whom 
it  was  addressed  to  ? — There  is  one  which  com- 
mences "  Dear  E.'* 

Do  you  take  that  to  mean  Mr.  Egan  ? — Yes. 

I  am  now  talking  about  the  fac-simile  letter  ? — 
I  have  never  heard  any  suggestion  as  to  whom 
that  might  be  addressed. 

Nor  formed  an  opinion  yourself? — No.  At 
first  when  I  saw  the  letter  I  did  not  think  it  was 
genuine.  My  idea  was  that  if  you  told  a  corre- 
spondent to  show  a  letter  to  a  man,  and  at  the 
same  time  told  him  not  to  let  him  know  your  ad- 
dress, it  would  be  rather  insulting  to  him. 

Did  you  suppose  that  the  signature  had  been 
first  obtained  and  the  letter  written  above  it  ? — 
No,  I  did  not  think  anything  about  it. 

Why  did  you  believe  the  letter  not  to  be  gen- 
uine ? — I  could  not  understand  why  a  man  should 
say,  "You  can  show  him  this  letter,  but  do  not 
tell  him  my  address." 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  331 

Is  that  the  only  reason  why  you  thought  it  was 
not  genuine  ? — That  was  the  only  reason. 

Although  you  had  no  doubt  about  the  hand- 
writing?— I  had  no  doubt  about  the  signature. 

Can  you  suggest  anybody  as  the  writer  of  the 
body  of  the  letter  or  letters  ? — No. 

Do  you  know  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Camp- 
bell, Mr.  Parnell's  secretary? — I  have  often  re- 
ceived letters  from  him  about  the  meetings  of  a 
company  of  which  he  and  I  were  directors. 

A  land  company  was  it  not  ? — ^Yes,  but  I  have 
not  got  any  of  the  letters. 

An  emigration  land  company  was  it  not? — 
Well,  you  ought  to  know  as  you  were  a  director, 
(Laughter.) 

Take  these  letters  in  your  hand  and  tell  me 
whether  the  body  of  any  of  them  is  in  Mr.  Camp- 
bell's handwriting  ? — I  do  not  know,  I  cannot  tell. 

Just  turn  them  over  and  look  at  them  ? — I  have 
looked  at  them. 

Are  you  speaking  of  all  the  letters  ?— Any  of 
them. 

Is  there  any  one  in  Mr.  Campbell's  handwriting  ? 
— As  well  as  I  know  Mr.  Campbell's  handwriting, 
I  cannot  say  anything  of  the  kind. 

As  to  that  you  will  express  no  opinion? — I 
know  nothing  about  them. 

There  are  only  two  other  points  I  want  to  ask 
you  anything  about.  You  say  Mr.  Parneli  asked 
you  to  have  police  protection  for  himself? — ^Yes. 


332  '     CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Are  you  certain  of  that  ? — Absolutely  certain. 

Did  you  not  get  police  protection  for  your  own 
house  ? — Yes. 

Did  you  not  get  police  protection  for  your  own 
rooms  at  Albert-mansions  ? — Yes. 

Do  you  suggest  that  beyond  watching  your 
house  where  Mr.  Parnell  was  staying,  that  Mr. 
Parnell  was  watched  or  followed  by  police  ?— 
Certainly,  that  is  to  say,  Sir  William  Harcourt  told 
me  he  should  have  them. 

Police  in  uniform  or  detectives? — I  do  not 
know.     I  asked  for  police  protection. 

Did  you  at  the  same  time  ask  for  police  protec- 
tion for  Albert-mansions  ? — Yes. 

Where  you  lived?  Mr.  Parnell  did  not  stay 
there?— No. 

Then  I  understand  you  asked  for  three  things 
— you  asked  for  police  protection  for  your  house, 
for  personal  protection  for  Mr.  Parnell,  and  police 
protection  for  your  rooms  in  Albert-mansions  ? — 
I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  for  Albert-mansions. 
I  was  promised  that  I  should  be  looked  after. 

Do  you  recollect  a  discussion  in  the  House  of 
Commons  as  to  certain  interviews  you  had  with 
Mr.  Forster  ? — ^Yes. 

It  IS  suggested  to  me  that  you  had  police  pro- 
tection in  1886  at  Albert-mansions.  Is  that  so? 
— Not  that  I  know  of,  but  one  does  not  always 
know  what  the  police  do. 


CHARLES  STEWART   PARNELL.  333 

I  believe  you  wrote  a  letter  to  The  Times  news- 
paper on  May  i8,  1882?— Yes. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  will  read  the  letter  from  the 
Freeman's  Journal,  where  it  also  appeared. 

^'Sir — Lest  there  should  linger  in  the  public 
mind  the  slightest  misconception  as  to  my  repudia- 
tion of  Mr.  Forster's  public  version  of  my  private 
conversation,  I  beg  that  you  will  insert  the  follow- 
ing statement : 

"  My  assertion  that  I  had  been  in  frequent  com- 
munication with  him,  Mr.  Forster  has  had  the 
coolness  to  describe  as  incorrect.     I  retort  that, 
besides   previous   communications,  I  talked  the 
whole  situation  over  while  walking  with  him  from 
the  House  of  Commons  to  the  Irish  Office,  and 
while    standing   outside   the   latter   building    on 
Wednesday,  the  26th  of  April.     On  Friday,  the 
28th,  I  walked  with   him  from    the  Irish  Office 
through   the  Park  to  Downing  street,  stopping 
several  times  on  the  way,  as  men  often  do  when 
in  earnest  conversation.     Among  the  matters  of 
our  discussion  was  a  foolish  answer  which  he  had 
drafted  to  Mr.  Cowen's  question  respecting  the 
imprisoned  members, and  which  he  was  fortunately 
not  allowed  to  give  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
I  had  another  conversation — 2.  short  one— with 
him  later  in  the  day,  at  the  Irish  Office,  and  a 
third  interview  of  some  length  in  his  room  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  to  which  I  was  invited  by 
him  through  the  Irish  Solicitor-General,     During 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  335 

this  last  one  he  suggested  the  best  plan  for  visit- 
ing Kilmainham  unostentatiously.  But  I  confess 
he  appeared  nervous  and  demoralized,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  point  out  and  make  him  correct  an 
extraordinary  error  in  the  letter  which  he  handed 
me,  addressed  to  Captain  Barlow,  deputy  chair- 
man of  the  Irish  Prisons*  Board.  That  error  was 
nothing  less  than  the  substitution  of  another 
name  for  mine  in  the  order  for  special  facilities 
which  he  had  just  written.  The  order  must  be 
in  Captain  Barlow's  possession.  Let  it  be  pro- 
duced, for  Mr.  Forster's  worst  enemy  cannot 
suggest  its  being  concocted. 

**  Now,  as  to  the  memorandum  alleged  by  Mr. 
Forster  to  represent  my  conversation  with  him  on 
April  30.  In  it  he  informed  the  Cabinet  that  I 
had  used  the  following  words : — *  The  conspiracy 
which  has  been  used  to  get  up  boycotting  and 
outrages  will  now  be  used  to  put  them  down.' 
The  following  are  the  facts: — I  myself  know 
nothing  about  the  organization  of  the  Land 
Leao-ue.  But  I  told  Mr.  Forster  that  I  had  been 
informed  by  Mr.  Parnell  the  day  before  that  if 
the  arrears  question  were  settled,  that  organiza- 
tion would  explain  the  boon  to  the  people  and 
tell  them  that  they  ought  to  assist  the  operation 
of  the  remedial  measure  in  the  tranquillization 
of  the  country.  I  added  that  Mr.  Parnell  had 
expressed  his  belief  that  Messrs.  Davitt,  Egan 
Sheridan,  and  Boyton  would  use  all  their  exertions, 


336  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

if  placed  in  a  position  to  do  so,  to  advance  the 
pacification,  and  that  Mr.  Sheridan's  influence  was 
of  special  importance  in  the  west,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  he  had  been  the  chief  organizer  of  the 
Land  League  in  Connaught  before  his  arrest, 
while  Mr.  Boyton  had  held  a  similar  appointment 
in  the  province  of  Leinster.  On  these  points  I  had 
heard  no  more,  I  knew  no  more,  and  I  said  no 
more.  "  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  William  Henry  O^Shea. 
"  House  of  Commons.'* 

Sir.  C.  Russell. — That  is  correct  ? — Perfectly 
correct. 

You  will  bring  the  testimonial  to  which  we 
have  referred  into  court  to-morrow  morning  ? — 
Yes. 

The  Attorney-General  then  asked  whether 
any  of  the  other  parties  desired  to  cross-examine 
the  witness,  and  negative  replies  being  given,  he 
left  the  box. 

Mr.  Healy  then  rose  and  said, — I  wish  to  put 
a  question  to  Mr.  O'Shea. 

The  witness  having  beei>  recalled, 

Mr.  Healy  said, — You  were  opposed  at  Gal- 
way  by  some  members  of  the  Irish  party,  and 
you  went  there  on  a  Saturday  ? — Yes. 

Do  you  remember  a  paragraph  in  the  Freeman's 
Journal  announcing  your  candidature  ? — Yes. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  337 

By  the  next  train  you  were  followed  by  certain 
Irish  members  ? — Yes. 

Who  were  they  ? — Yourself  and  Mr.  Biggar. 

We  immediately  addressed  meetings  against 
you,  and  attacked  and  denounced  you  by  every 
means  in  our  power? — Yes. 

Mr.  Healy.— Quite  so ;'  that  is  all  I  want. 

There  was  no  re-examination  of  the  witness. 


CHAPTER  XXni. 

THE    INFAMOUS    LE    CARON. 

And  now,  passing  by  days  consumed  in  tedi- 
ous wranglings  and  the  reading  of  the  public 
speeches  of  the  accused  by  the  Attorney-General, 
as  well  as  the  evidence  of  small-fry  informers,  I 
come  to  the  5th  of  February,  when  the  infamous 
spy,  Le  Caron,  gave  his  testimony.  On  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  at  least,  his  career,  as  he  told  it  on 
the  witness-stand,  will  be  read  with  deep  interest. 

Major  Le  Caron,  who  wore  the  badge  of  the 
Federal  Army,  was  called  and  examined  by  the 
Attorney-General. 

What  is  your  name  ?  My  baptismal  name  is 
Thomas  Willis  Beach. 

Where  were  you  born  ?  I  was  born  in  Col- 
chester. 

Under  what  name  have  you  passed  during  the 
last  number  of  years  ?  I  have  been  known  for 
the  last  twenty-eight  years  as  Henri  Le  Caron. 

What  is  your  age  ?  I  am  forty-eight  years  of  age. 

I  gather  that  you  have  been  to  the   United 
States.      When  did  you  go  ?      Soon   after  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  of  rebellion  in  1861. 
338 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  339 

Did  you  enlist  in  the  army  ?     I  did. 

The  American  army  ?     The  Northern  army. 

Did  you  attain  any  rank  in  the  American  army? 
I  did.  I  entered  as  a  private  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  war,  and  after  serving  two  years  as  a 
private  and  non-commissioned  officer,  I  became 
second  lieutenant,  first  lieutenant 

The  President. — ^What  did  you  ultimately  be- 
come? 

Witness. — I  was  regimental  adjutant  with  the 
rank  of  major.     I  was  known  as  Major  Le  Caron. 

The  Attorney-General. — Did  you  pass  con- 
tinually under  that  name  during  the  twenty-eight 
years  you  were  in  America  ?    I  did  altogether. 

Were  you  not  known  by  any  other  name? 
Never. 

Now,  you  must  please  answer  these  questions 
I  am  about  to  put  to  you  directly,  either  yes  or  no. 
In  the  year  1864  did  you  become  acquainted  with 
a  person  named  John  O'Neill  ?     I  did. 

Captain  John  O'Neill  ?    Yes. 

Did  he  make  any  communication  to  you  re- 
specting the  Fenian  organization  ?    He  did. 

In  the  year  1865  did  O'Neill  make  a  communi- 
cation to  you  with  reference  to  the  invasion  of 
Canada?     He  did.    . 

Did  you  communicate  with  your  father  ?    I  did. 

Now,  just  answer,  yes  or  no,  please.  Do  you 
know  whether  communication  was  made  tp  a 
member  of  Parliament  ? 


340  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Really,  my  Lords,  I  must  ob- 
ject to  that  question. 

The  President. — Of  course,  we  must  not  get 
behind  that  phrase  "does  he  know." 

The  Attorney-General. — Did  you  yourself 
communicate  with  a  member  of  Parliament?  I 
did  not. 

In  consequence  of  a  communication  made  to 
you  did  you  communicate  with  the  Government  ? 
No. 

Did  you  take  any  part  in  the  expedition  against 
Canada  ?     I  allied  myself — — 

Sir  C.  Russell. — I  must  ask,  my  Lords,  whether 
this  is  evidence  ? 

The  President. — Of  course,  at  present  it  is 
not. 

The  Attorney-General. — It  is  necessary  to 
lead  up  to  subsequent  matters. 

The  President. — I  do  not  think  that  what  took 
place  in  1865  can  throw  much  light  on  the  inquiry. 

The  Attorney-General. — Very  well,  my  Lord. 
(To  witness.)  Did  you  at  any  time  join  the  Fe- 
nian organization  ?     I  did. 

In  what  year?  In  1865  or  the  beginning  of 
1866. 

Tell  us  where  you  joined  it?  At  Nashville, 
Tennessee. 

Had  you  any  office  or  position  in  that  organiza- 
tion ?     Not  at  that  time. 

Had  you  at  any  time  ?     Yes. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  341 

When  ?  Would  it  be  permitted  to  me  to  state 
that  part  of  my  story  ? 

You  had  better  simply  answer  my  question  at 
present.  When  did  you  obtain  any  office  in  the 
Fenian  organization?     In  the  spring  of  1868. 

What  was  the  office  ?     Military  organizer. 

Where  ?     All  over  the  United  States. 

What  was  the  name  of  the  office  in  the  organi- 
zation? I  was  called  on  the  pay-roll  of  the  or- 
ganization military  organizer.  I  was  commissioned 
with  the  rank  of  major  in  the  Irish  Republican  army. 

Now,  just  answer  yes  or  no,  please.  When  you 
were  holding  that  office,  was  there  a  convention  at 
Philadelphia— in  1868?     In  1869. 

What  work  was  being  carried  out  by  the  organ^ 
ization  in  1 869  ?  It  was  contemplating  the  invasion 
of  Canada. 

Did  you  take  any  part  in  the  preparations  for 
that  ?     I  did. 

What?  I  acted  as  inspector-general  and  after- 
wards as  adjutant-general  for  the  Fenian  Brother- 
hood. I  was  intrusted  with  the  laying  of  arms  and 
ammunition  and  war  material  along  the  Canadian 
line  of  territory.  I  attended  every  council  of  war 
that  was  held  in  the  organization. 

Did  you  communicate  what  \(ras  going  on  to  the 
Canadian  Government?  I  communicated  every 
detail  to  the  Canadian  Government. 

Was  any  descent  made  on  Canada  ?  There  were 
two— on  May  30,  1866,  and  June  12,  1870. 


342  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

One  was  attempted  following  upon  your  efforts 
to  deposit  arms  along  the  border  ?     Yes. 

Was  that  the  one  in  June,  1870?     Yes. 

Was  that  a  failurej*  Both  were  lamentable 
failures. 

Did  you  at  that  time  know  J.  J.  O'Kelly?    No. 

When  did.you  first  know  Mr.  J.  J.  O'Kelly? 

Sir  C.  Russell. — He  has  not  said  that  he  ever 
knew  him. 

The  Attorney-General. — Did  you  at  any  time 
know  Mr.  J.  J.  O'Kelly?  Personally  or  by  repu- 
tation ? 

Personally  ?  I  first  met  him  personally  In  the 
House  of  Commons  in  the  month  of  March,  1881. 

Now,  only  just  give  me  the  date,  please.  When 
did  you  first  know  him  by  name  ?  I  first  heard  of 
him  in  the  year  1875. 

You  say  you  met  Mr.  O'Kelly  in  the  House  of 
Commons ;  you  mean  Mr.  J.  J.  O'Kelly,  member 
of  Parliament  ?     I  do. 

What  did  you  do  after  the  invasion  ?  I  returned 
to  the  West,  completed  my  studies,  and  graduated 
as  a  doctor  of  medicine. 

Did  you  hear  something  in  connection  with  the 
Fenian  organization  ?  Only  answer  yes  or  no, 
please.     Yes. 

Where  were  you  at  that  time?  At  that  time  I 
was  practicing  medicine  inBraidwood,  near  Chicago. 

How  far  is  Braidwood  from  Chicago?  About 
fifty  miles. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  343 

Who  first  made  a  communication  to  you  about 
any  organization  In  connection  with  the  old  Fenian 
body  ?  I  first  heard  of  it  In  New  York  city,  but 
not  in  an  official  way. 

From  whom?  In  1875  ^  became  acquainted 
with  the  fact. 

1  only  want  to  know  from  whom  ?  Colonel 
Clingen. 

Where  did  he  reside  ?     At  Chicago. 

On  hearing  of  this  did  you  communicate  with 
London  ?     Yes. 

With  whom  ?  Did  you  communicate  with  the 
Government  or  with  whom  ?  With  the  Government. 

Did  you  receive  any  instructions  ?     Yes. 

Did  you  join  the  organization?     Yes. 

Who  proposed  you?  Alexander  Sullivan,  of 
Chicago. 

The  name  of  this  man  your  Lordships  will  find 
connected  with  a  number  of  things  in  this  case. 
He  is  one  of  the  persons  charged. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — No,  no.  He  is  charged  as 
one  with  whom  the  members  associated. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

LE   CARON    JOINS   THE    ''V.    C.'* 

The  Attorney-General. — Very  well,  an  asso^ 
date  and  not  a  member  ;  that  is  the  distinction, 
my  Lords.  (To  witness.)  Just  tell  us  who  Alex- 
ander Sullivan  was  ?  At  that  date  he  was  a 
member  of  the  executive  body  of  the  United 
Brotherhood,  a  body  known  as  the  V.  C. 

I  want  to  ask  you,  first,  had  Alexander  Sullivan 
any  business  ?  He  was  clerk  to  the  Board  of 
Public  Works  in  Chicago, 

Had  you  known  him  before  he  proposed  you  ? 
Yes. 

How  long  ?     About  eleven  years. 

Had  he  been  connected  with  the  Fenian  organ- 
ization or  not  ?     Yes. 

Do  you  know  whether,  prior  to  1875,  he  had 
been  connected  with  the  Fenian  organization? 
I  do. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Does  he  know  of  his  own 
knowledge  ? 

The   Attorney-General. — Do    you   know  of 
your  own  knowledge  ?     Yes. 
344 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  345 

What  was  the  name  of  the  organization  for 
which  you  were  proposed  ?  The  United  Brother- 
hood. 

Was  it  spoken  of  as  the  United  Brotherhood  of 
the  V.  C,  or  in  any  other  way  ?  Always  as  the 
V.  C.  . 

Just  explain  this  —V.  C.  were  taken  as  U.  B.  ? 
Yes. 

That  is  the  letter  following  the  letter  which  was 
intended  was  used  ?     Yes. 

So  that  U  would  become  V,  and  B  would  be- 
come C  ?     Yes. 

Do  you  know  the  name  Clan-na-Gael  ?     Yes. 

What  was  that  ? 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Does  he  know  what  it  was  ? 

The  Attorney-General. — Do  you  know  of 
your  own  knowledge  what  it  w^s  ?  Yes.  It  was 
a  secret  organization  known  as  the  V.  C. 

The  V.  C.  was  the  same  as  the  Clan-na-Gael, 
then  ?     Yes. 

Now,  just  tell  me  a  little  more  about  the  cipher, 
please.     What  would  Ireland  be  ?     Jsjti. 

No,  that  is  *Trish ;"  I  want  to  know  what  Ire- 
land is  ?     Jsfmboe. 

What  was  the  governing  authority  called  ?  The 
F.  C. 

I  do  not  quite  know  how  that  was  obtained  ? 
From  the  words  Executive  Body. 

That  is  to  say,  the  E  of  the  Executive  became 
the  F,  and  the  B  of  Body  became  the  C  ?  Yes,  sir. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  34/ 

Was  there  any  sign  for  the  secretary  ?  He  was 
known  as  Y. 

Treasurer  ? — Z. 

Chairman  ? — X. 

Now,  you  have  said  that  you  were  proposed  by 
Sullivan.  Do  you  know  whether  Alexander  Sulli- 
van was  a  member  of  the  Executive  Body  ?  On 
that  exact  date,  no. 

Was  the  country  divided  into  districts  at  all  for 
the  purposes  of  this  body  ?     Yes,  sir. 

How  were  these  districts  named  or  known  ?  By 
letters  of  the  alphabet,  from  A  to  N. 

Was  there  any  directory  ?     Yes,  sir. 

How  nominated  ?  The  directory  or  Executive 
Body  at  that  time  consisted  of  district  members, 
one  in  each  district,  in  connection  with  the  chair- 
man, secretary,  and  treasurer. 

How  was  the  district  member  known ;  had  he 
any  symbol  ?     Yes,  sir. 
/What  ?     A  cross. 

Was  a  cipher  used  for  him  or  not  ?  No,  none. 
D,  M,  and  E.  N.  at  another  time. 


CHAPTER  XXV* 


OBJECTS   OF   THE   **  V.  C." 


And  what  was  the  object  of  this  U.  B.  (United 
Brotherhood)  ?  It  was  to  bring  about  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  Irish  Republic,  of  an  independent 
Irish  Republic  in  Ireland,  and  the  independence 
of  that  nation ;  and  it  was  believed  that  the  only 
method  whereby  that  could  be  accomplished  was 
by  the  force  of  arms. 

The  wretched  informer  here  identified  copies 
of  the  "  Constitution  "  and  by-laws,  etc.,  of  the 
V.  C,  and  under  the  skillful  lead  of  the  Attorney- 
General  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Royal 
Commission  a  large  number  of  documents,  copies 
of  which  had  been  sent  to  him  as  Senior  Guar- 
dian of  the  Camp  to  which  he  belonged.  His 
story  throughout  was  a  most  exciting  one  to  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  Irishmen  here  and  else- 
where who  were  identified  with  the  "United 
Brotherhood,"  either  directly  or  indirectly.  He 
told  of  the  secretly  arranged  plans  of  "  the  Ex- 
ecutive Body  "  to  raise  funds,  to  keep  alive  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  rank  and  file,  and  of  his  own 
34S 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 


349 


election  as  Senior  Guardian  of  Camp  463,  Illi- 
nois. 

Attempting-  to  connect  Mr.  Parnell  with  the 
"  U.  B.,"  the  Attorney-General  asked : 

Do  you  remember  the  visit  of  Mr.  Parnell 
and  Mr.  Dillon  to  America  in  1880? — I  remember 
it  by  public  report. 

Do  you  know  whether  any  other  members  of 
Parliament  went  over  with  Mr.  Parnell  and  Mr. 
Dillon  in  that  year  ? — I  do  not  know. 

Did  Mr.  Healy  come  at  that  time  ? — I  believe 
he  was  there  at  the  same  time. 

Did  you  know,  as  an  officer  of  the  body  about 
which  you  have  told  us,  who  arranged  the  meet- 
ings attended  by  Mr.  Parnell,  Mr.  Dillon,  and  Mr. 
Healy  ? — Invariably,  without  exception,  during 
both  the  western  and  the  eastern  tours,  the  ar- 
rangements were  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the 
leaders  of  the  revolutionary  organization. 

In  the  hands  of  the  leaders  of  the  United 
Brotherhood,  or  Clan-na-Gael  ? — :Yes. 

Tell  us  whom  you  mean  ? — I  mean  such  men  as 
Alexander  Sullivan,  J.  F.  Finerty,  Judge  Prender- 
gast,  Judge  Moran,  W.  J.  Hynes,  J.  M.  Smythe, 
Joha  Devoy,  J.  D.  Breslin,  Martin  Pigane,  James 
Gallagher,  J.  D.  Garroll,  W.  D.  Carroll,  James 
Tracey,  and  Fitzgerald. 

After  reading  circulars  issued  by  the  patriot 
John  Devoy,  the  Attorney-General  continued : 

Tell  us  what  passed  between   you  and    De- 


^CQ  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

voy  ? — I  spent  four  days  with  him  and  had  a  series 
of  conversations  with  him.  He  informed  me  that  it 
was  contemplated  by  the  organization  to  inaugu- 
rate a  new  system  of  warfare — cold-blooded  mur- 
der and  destruction  of  property. 

The  President. — What  organization  ? 

Witness. — Our  organization,  that  to  which  he 
and  I  belonged  ? 

The  Attorney-General. — Go  on  with  the  con- 
versation, please. — It  was  to  be  a  warfare  char- 
acterized by  all  the  rigors  of  Nihilism. 

Anything  further? — He  spoke  of  the  condition 
of  the  organization  in  Ireland.  While  the  execu- 
tive of  the  I.  R.  B.  (Irish  Republican  Brotherhood) 
were  not  in  favor  of  inaugurating  a  movement  of 
this  kind,  yet  it  was  a  very  difficult  matter  to  re- 
restrain  the  fire-eating  element  which  would  be 
very  likely,  when  evictions  commenced,  to  attack 
some  of  the  flying  columns  in  portions  of  the 
country  where  the  organization  was  powerful, 
mentioning  particularly  the  county  of  Mayo, 
where  he  said  the  organization  was  more  power- 
ful than  in  any  other  part  of  Ireland.  This 
would  result  disastrously  to  those  engaged. 
He  also  stated  that  the  movement  then  being 
inaugurated  by  O'Donovan  Rossa  was  alienating 
from  our  organization  some  good  men  whom 
it  was  desirable  to  keep,  but  who  could  not  be 
kept  unless  active  operations  were  commenced. 

The    President. — This  is  your  summary  of  a 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  ^cj 

conversation  which  passed  between  you  and  De- 
voy  during  several  days  ? 

Witness. — Yes,^  my  Lord. 

The  President. — It  is  his  opinion  of  what  Was 
likely  to  occur? — Yes,  my  Lord. 

The  President. — If  that  is  a  correct  summary 
of  it,  I  am  of  opmion  that  it  is  inadmissible. 

The  Attorney  -  General.  —  The  summary 
scarcely  included  the  first  part. 

The  President. — Very  well ;  1  cannot  exactly 
follow  all  he  said. 

The  Attorney-General. — I  will  bring  out  the 
point  in  another  way,  my  Lord.  (To  Witness.) 
In  1880  or  the  beginning  of  188 1,  had  you  a  con- 
versation with  Alexander  Sullivan  ? — Yes  ;  I  re- 
peatedly saw  him  in  the  beginning  of  188 1. 

Do  you  remember  seeing  Sullivan  with  Patrick 
Meleady? — No;  I  saw  Patrick  Meleady  with 
John  Devoy. 

Was  Alexander  Sullivan  a  member  of  the  ex- 
ecutive ?-— He  was. 

Was  Patrick  Meleady  ? — He  was  a  prominent 
member  of  the  United  Brotherhood. 

Did  you  have  any  conversation  with  Sullivan 
as  to  any  plan  of  warfare? — Yes;  in  the  begin- 
ning of  1 88 1. 

What  was  it  ? — I  ascertained 

The  President. — No,  no;  what  did  he  say? 

Witness, — Alexander  Sullivan  told  me  that 
tKere  was  an  intention  to  reorganize  the  organiza- 


^(-2  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

tion,  to  inaugurate  a  species  of  active  warfare  on 
this  side  of  the  water,  and  attack  the  enemy  se- 
cretly and  silently  whenever  an  opportunity  might 
present  itself.  He  said  that  the  organization  on 
this  side  of  the  water,  from  some  lack  of  courage 
of  the  leaders,  .could  not  be  depended  upon. 

Sir  C.  Russell. — Is  England  or  Ireland  re- 
ferred to  ? 

The  President. — He  means  this  side  of  the 
water  with  regard  to  the  Atlantic. 

Witness  (continuing). — He  said  that  opera- 
tions would  be  directed  from  the  United  States 
side ;  the  matter  was  in  good  hands,  but  it  would 
take  time  to  complete. 

Did  you  have  any  conversation  with  Meleady  ? 
—Yes. 

Do  you  remember  a  man  named  Whelan  being 
mentioned? — Yes;  he  was  mentioned  by  Patrick 
Meleady  in  company  with  Colonel  Flynn  and  John 
Devoy.  It  was  said  he  had  invented  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  New  York  organization  for  use  a 
new  hand  grenade  and  torpedo,  composed  of 
something  more  explosive  than  anything  at  that 
time  known.  It  was  made  in  a  very  compact  and 
portable  form,  so  that  at  least  a  dozen  could  be 
carried  in  a  hand-satchel.  By  means  of  a  system 
of  time-fuse  they  could  be  located  in  a  number  of 
places  by  the  same  man,  who  could  be  well  out  of 
the  way  before  any  of  them  exploded.     Patrick 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  ^53 

Meleady  also  said  that  he  was  well  acquainted 
with  this  side  of  the  water,  and  he  volunteered  his 
services  to  come  over  and  engage  in  that  part  of 
the  work. 

What  part? — Locating  and  planning  matters 
relating  to  destruction  by  dynamite,  torpedoes, 
aod  hand-grenades. 

Where  did  this  conversation  with  Meleady  in 
Devoy's  presence  take  place  ?— It  took  place  in 
my  office,  in  New  York,  in  the  fall  of  1880. 

When  you  refer  to  the  revolutionary  organiza- 
tion, do  you  mean  the  same  that  you  have  previ- 
ously alluded  to  ? — Yes. 

You  have  spoken  of  a  circular  which  Devoy 
sent  to  you;  did  he  lecture  in  your  neighbor- 
hood ? — Yes.  I  presided  over  one  of  the  demon- 
strations and  introduced  him.  The  lecture  was 
given  at  Braidwood,  111.,  about  the  beginning  of 
April,  1 88 1. 

Do  you  know  whether  any  of  Devoy's  lectures 
at  which  you  were  present  were  reported  in  any 
papers  ? — I  could  not  say.  If  I  looked  over  a  file 
of  the  Irish  World  I  could  find  them  if  they  were 
there. 

How  long  did  Devoy  stay  with  you  at  Braidr 
wood? — I  saw  him  at  intervals  extending  over 
three  weeks,  and  continuously  for  four  days. 

Do  you  remember  his  saying  anything  about  a 
rising  in  Ireland? — Yes;  he  said  he  anticipated 


-  cj  .  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

that  if  there  should  be  a  rising  in  Ireland  it  would 
result  disastrously. 

Did  he  fear  it  or  expect  it  ? — He  feared  that 
a  premature  movement  would  take  place. 

Did  he  say  anything  about  O' Donovan  Rossa  ? 
— Yes.  He  considered  that  something  should  be 
done  to  prevent  some  of  the  more  rabid,  who 
were  demanding  that  "something  should  be  done," 
from  flocking  to  the  standard  of  Rossa.  He  said 
that  it  would  be  necessary  for  us  to  do  something 
to  keep  them  in  the  organization. 

What  do  you  mean  by  the  "standard  of  Rossa"? 
— After  the  Convention  of  1879  Rossa  was  ex- 
pelled from  the  organization  for  malfeasance  in 
office — for  misappropriating  some  $13,000  of  the 
Skirmishing  Fund. 

I  understood  you  to  say  that  he  was  expelled 
after  the  Convention  of  1879. — He  was  a  dele- 
gate at  that  Convention,  and  was  expelled  some 
year  or  so  after.  He  then  formed  an  organization 
bitterly  opposed  to  the  leaders  of  the  V.  C.  (United 
Brotherhood),  desiring  to  be  one  himself. 

He  was  not  a  leader  of  the  V.  C.  (United 
Brotherhood)  after  1879? — No;  but  he  was  a 
member  of  the  United  Brotherhood. 

Following  these  questions  were  many  which 
introduced  and  sought  to  implicate  in  the  move- 
ment the  Hon.  Patrick  Egan,  U.  S.  Minister  to 
Chile,  the  Hon.  Thomas  Sexton,  Lord-Mayor  of 
Dublin,  Dr.  Kenny,  Mr.  O'Kelly,  T.  P.  Brennan, 


V.:^ 


^  -  5  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

and  other  prominent  men.  The  arrival  of  Patrick 
Egan  was  dwelt  on  repeatedly,  and  the  fact  that 
he  was  the  guest  of  Alexander  Sull,ivan  after 
which  Le  Caron  presented  to  the  Commissioners 
the  following  extracts  from  the  Revolutionary 
Directory  to  the  Senior  Guardians  : 

"  These  instructions  are  for  the  exclusive  use  of 
S.  G.'s  (Senior  Guardians)  only,  and  are  not -to 
be  read  or  mentioned  as  being  received  by  any 
one  else  under  any  circumstances  whatever,  but 
are  to  be  enforced  as  coming  from  the  Consti- 
tution or  laws,  when  they  are  prohibitory  or  man- 
datory. When,  however,  the  suggestions  con- 
tained herein  require  that  some  one  take  the 
initiative,  or  when  they  require  organization  or 
action,  the  S.  G.  is  looked  to  to  put  the  sug- 
gestions into  operation  both  by  counsel,  action, 
and  example. 

"I.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  S.  G.'s  to  dili- 
gently inquire,  without  informing  the  parties  or 
any  one  else,  the  names  and  address  of  the  men 
best  fitted  for  private  work  of  a  confidential  and 
dangerous  character,  and  report  the  same  in  a  list 
made  out  or  furnished  for  that  purpose  to  Y  (the 
Secretary),  and  this  list  shall  be  made  out  at  such 
stated  periods  as  they  may  be  demanded. 

"2.  S.  G.  will  prohibit  any  and  all  argument, 
discussion,  or  reply  to  any  and  all  statements  or 
charges^  from  any  source,  affecting  the  welfare  of 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  ^^7 

the  organization  of  which  he  is  to  be  the  judge, 
either  in  writing  or  interview  or  in  any  manner 
whatever  by  any  member  of  the  organization. 

**3.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  S.  G's.  to  urge  or 
organize  military  companies,  rifle  clubs,  signal 
corps,  or  schools  of  skirmishers,  such  as  may  be 
best  adapted  to  the  locality  and  the  tastes  of  the 
men,  and  they  shall  report  in  writing  the  character, 
number,  and  resources  of  the  same. 

"  4.  In  cities  and  towns  accessible  to  navigation 
it  is  deemed  important  to  ascertain  all  the  persons 
skilled  in  navigation  available  to  the  purposes  of 
the  organization,  and  report  their  names,  ex- 
perience, and  character  to  the  foregoing  address. 

•t»  •!j»  •I'  •«•  *»»  •l» 

"  6.  S.  G.'s  are  instructed  to  make  their  places 
of  meeting  so  far  as  possible  their  own  property 
by  lease  or  ownership.  Where  the  same  is  pos- 
sible several  clubs  should  be  established,  the 
profits  to  revert  to  the  order. 

"7.  As  the  successful  working,  increase  in  mem- 
bers, and  the  resources,  is  always  largely  due  to 
the  personal  exertions  of  S.  G.'s,  it  is  urged 
that  every  S.  G.  be  active  and  energetic  in  in- 
creasing the  strength  and  resources  of  the  or- 
ganization. D.'s  (camps)  of  instruction  for 
officers  and  D.'s  should  be  held  as  often  as  pos- 
sible, and  every  man  drilled  to  perfection  in  his 
place  in  the  work  of  meetings.     D/s  should  be 


^-g  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

opened  promptly,  and  the  work  of  the  order 
carried  out  rigidly  in  order  to  inculcate  fully  the 
spirit  and  habit  of  obedience. 

****** 

'*  9.  S.  G.'s  are  requested  to  take  such  steps  as 
may  be  practical  without  increasing  expenses  to 
the  organization  to  fully  organize  every  locality 
within  their  reach,  where  there  is  at  present  no 
D.,  and  put  the  same  in  complete  working  order. 
To  fully  carry  out  the  spirit  of  this  suggestion  the 
contingent  funds  of  D.*s  or  private  subscriptions 
is  suggested  as  the  best  means  of  furnishing  any 
necessary  funds. 

**  Where  possible  and  practical  S.  G.'s  and 
other  officers  and  the  D.'s  in  a  body  are  requested 
as  often  as  possible  to  interchange  visits  and 
social  reunions. 

«  :{:  «  4:  *  * 

"12.  Where  it  is  deemed  important  that  some 
able  or  distinguished  brother  might  do  good  by 
visiting  or  addressing  the  D.,  the  S.  G.  will  make 
the  same  known  to  Y.  (the  Secretary),  and  where 
practical  or  possible  their  wants  will  be  sup- 
plied. 

"13.  When  possible  and  practical,  and  the 
same  can  be  done  without  interfering  with  the 
work  of  the  organization,  it  is  urged  that  the 
open  organization  (National  League)  be  aided  as 
far  as  possible. 

"  14.  The  complete  development  and  training 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  ^cg 

of  all  branches,  military,  naval,  and  civic,  likely  to 
be  useful  in  a  struggle  such  as  we  are  waging  is 
deemed  of  the  very  highest  importance^  and  it  is 
made  the  duty  of  the  S.  G/s  to  spare  no  effort 
to  make  their  local  organization  of  whatever 
nature  as  effective  as  possible  in  some  particular 
branch  and  art  of  warfare. 

''15.  All  communications  must  be  carefully 
destroyed  or  returned  to  Y.  if  so  desired,  after 
being  read  at  successive  meetings  as  often  as 
directed. 

"  16.  The  following  suggestions  are  made  with 
a  view  of  indicating  locations  best  adapted  to 
particular  branches  of  the  art  of  war,  but  in  every 
instance  S.  G.'s  will  use  their  own  judgment  or 
follow  the  instincts  of  their  men  in  adopting  the 
art  or  branch  of  war  to  be  cultivated. 

"  The  seaports  and  coast  lines  for  navigation — 
torpedoes  and  artillery. 

"  The  Western  Territories — calvary. 

"  The  mining  regions — engineering,  explosives, 
and  sharpshooting. 

"  The  Western  States — infantry  and  artillery. 

"The  Southern  States — infantry,  cavalry,  and 
artillery. 

"Where  there  are  more  than  one  D.,  and  less 
than  three  they  should  take  each  different  branches 
of  warfare  for  study. 

"  In  the  cities  of  New  York,  Brooklyn,  Chicago, 
Boston,  and  Philadelphia  D.'s  might  by  a  mutual 


^5o  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

understanding  each  select  some  of  the  technical 
higher  branches — one  for  telegraphy,  one  for 
signals,  one  for  arsenal  and  repair  work,  one  for 
commissairies'  work,  one  for  scouts  and  spies, 
one  for  general  instruction*  in  the  art  of  wan 

"In  all  cases  the  very  you ng^est  members 
should  be  selected  for  the  schools,  as  they  are 
more  sensitive  to  new  ideas,  and  more  easily 
learned.  When  the  work  is  once  commenced  a 
thousand  suggestions  and  improvements  will  oc- 
cur to  the  S.  G/s  of  D/s,  all  of  which  they  are 
earnestly  requested  to  push  forward  as  rapidly  as 
possible. 

**  Respectfully  and  fraternally, 
"The  R.  D.  (Revolutionary  Directory)  and 
F.  C.  (Executive  Body)/' 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  LOMASNEY-GALLAGHER  "  INCIDENTS." 

Le  Caron's  testimony  about  the  sad  death  of 
Mr.  Lomasney  is  of  interest.     He  was  asked: 

You  were  saying,  in  connection  with  the 
Mackey  Lomasney  incident,  that  the  matter  was 
mentioned  at  the  meeting  of  the  Convention  in 
1888;  who  were  present  there? — At  that  meet- 
ing ?     By  name  ? 

Yes. — Luke  Dillon,  Patrick  Egan,  Samuel  Mor- 
rice,  John  Devoy,  O'Meagher  Condon — 

That  is  sufficient  for  my  purpose.  Now,  what 
passed,  only  with  reference  to  this  Lomasney  in- 
cident ;  what  was  said  about  anything  being  done 
for  his  family  ?  Was  any  resolution  come  to  ?— ^ 
Yes,  it  appears  in  the  official  report  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  that  meeting.  The  discussion  was; 
brought  up  by  the  delegate  from  Detroit,  Michi- 
gan. He  cited  the  amount  appropriated  s9on 
after  the  supposed  death  of  Lomasney  for  his  old 
father  and  his  wife  and  children. 

The  Attorney-General. — Will  your  Lordships 
permit  me  to  postpone  putting  in  this  document 

361 


-52  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

in  order  of  date  ?  It  is  necessary  on  account  of 
the  Lomasney  incident  being  finished  in  1888.  I 
try  to  be  chronological.  Now  I  will  just  read  the 
resolution  this  gentleman  has  referred  to  : — 

**The  case  of  Mr.  Lomasney,  whose  two  sons 

were  sacrificed  in  the  cause  of ,  was  then 

brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Convention.  It 
was  ordered  unanimously  that  the  executive  body 
be  instructed  to  look  after  the  welfare  of  the  fam- 
ily." 

On  his  cross-examination  the  spy,  Le  Caron, 
was  asked : 

Had  you  any  business  in  America  besides  the 
patriotic  business  ? — Yes,  sir. 

What  was  it  ? — I  have  "  run  " — I  practiced 
medicine  soon  after  graduating.  I  graduated  in 
the  spring  session  of  1872  as  doctor  of  medicine, 
and  I  have  practiced  medicine  at  intervals  from 
that  time  to  this.  I  have  also  been  the  proprietor 
at  times  of  three  different  chemists'  shops,  and 
have  also  been  president  of  a  pharmaceutical  as- 
sociation. 

Did  you  make  your  living  at  that  or  was  it  a 
pretence  ? — I  made  a  very  large  amount  of  money 
at  that.  time.     More  than  sufficient  to  live  on. 

Now  about  this  U.  B.  or  V.  C.  (United  Broth- 
erhood). You  told  us  yesterday  that  you  were 
high  up  in  the  military  branch  of  the  organization? 
—Yes. 

But  as  regards  the  Civil  Council,  the  Executive 


2  54  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

— you  were  not  a  member  of  the  Executive  Body? 
—No. 

What  did  you  call  the  head  of  the  organization? 
— At  one  time  the  district  members  composed  the 
Executive  Body.  At  another  time  the  number  of 
six  composed  the  Executive  Body.  At  another 
time  the  triangle.  At  another  time  it  was  in- 
creased to  seven. 

You  have  not  answered  my  question.  Was 
there  any  designation  for  the  head  of  this  organ- 
ization ? — Yes,  sir,  the  Executive  Body. 

No,  no,  that  would  consist  of  several. — That 
was  the  name  given  to  the  leaders. 

Was  there  no  one  person  who  corresponded  to 
the  Fenian  centre  or  head  centre,  or  something  of 
that  kind  ? — They  acted  collectively.  They  chose 
a  chairman  or  presiding  officer  of  the  Executive 
Body  from  time  to  time. 

Then  there  was  no  one  who  would  correspond 
to  what  we  have  heard  described  in  reference  to 
Fenianism  as  head  centre? — We  had  no  such 
name  as  head  centre. 

Or  any  corresponding  name  ? — ^The  Executive 
Body,  sir,  the  council. 

Can  you  tell  me  who  is  supposed  to  be  at  the 
head  of  the  organization  now  ? — ^Yes. 

Who  ? — I   submitted  the  official  list  yesterday. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

"THE   EXECUTIVE   BODY." 

Who  ? — Bradley,  of  Philadelphia.  Patrick  Egan 
is  the  first  name  on  the  executive. 

You  know  that  of  your  own  knowledge? — 
Yes,  sir.  I  voted  for  him  and  saw  him  elected. 
O'Meagher  Condon  and  Luke  Dillon  are  mem- 
bers of  the  executive. 

You  do  not  follow  me.  Who  is  the  head,  the 
present  head  ? — I  think  they  elected  Bradley  as 
chairman  of  the  Executive  Body. 

You  say  you  think.  You  do  not  seem  to  have 
a  personal  knowledge. — I  have  a  personal  knowl- 
edge of  that.  If  you  will  allow  me  to,  refresh  my 
memory  with  a  list  I  could  tell  you.  My  own 
knowledge  is  that  I  voted  for  Mr.  Bradley. 

You  mean  you  did  ;  you  know  you  did  ? — I  do 
not  like  to  swear  ;  I  might  commit  myeelf. 

Now  you  mentioned  yesterday,  I  think,  the 
numbers  of  this  V.  C.  or  U.  B.  at  some  period. 
What  was  the  number  you  mentioned  yesterday  ? 
— At  an  early  date  it  averaged  from  ii,ooo  to 
13,000. 

365 


^^^  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

In  1877  about  11,500? — Yes,  sir;  and  it  got  as 
high  as  23,000. 

When  was  that  ?  Was  that  in  the  end  of  1881  ? 
—Oh !  a  little  later  than  that. 

The  beginning  of  1882? — Yes,  sir;  22,000  in 
1882. 

Do  you  recollect  the  suppression  of  the  Land 
League  and  the  arrest  of  the  Irish  leaders  ? — 
Yes. 

That  gave  a  great  impetus,  did  it  not,  to  the 
organization  in  America  ? — The  first  arrest  in 
1881? 

Yes,  toward  the  end  of  1881  ? — ^Yes,  it  did,  sir. 

Did  not  the  highest  point  of  your  membership 
occur  at  the  end  of  1881  and  beginning  of  1882  ? 
— No,  sir. 

When  do  you  say  it  was  ? — To-day  ;  it  always 
increased. 

You  think  the  numbers  are  greater  to-day  than 
before  ? — Yes ;  and  I  can  prove  it  by  reports  I 
can  submit  to  you. 

You  have  reports  that  will  show  that  ? — Yes. 

Which  you  can  give  to  the  Court? — I  can,  sir. 

Reports  sent  over  from  time  to  time  to  Ander- 
son ? — Yes. 

Mr.  Cunynghame,  will  you  kindly  give  me  those 
two  bundles  of  documents?  (The  Secretary 
handed  the  documents  to  Sir  Charles  Russell.) 

Sir  C.  Russell. — The  first  document  which  I 
have  here  is  the  constitution  of  the  V.  C.  (United 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  ^^y 

Brotherhood)  No.  i,  in  1877.  It  was  then  a  secret 
society  ? — Yes. 

Bound  by  a  secret  oath  ? — It  was. 

And  except  the  members  of  the  society,  who,  I 
presume,  had  certain  signs  and  passwords,  the 
ordinary  world  would  know  nothing  about  it  ? — 
Excepting  the  public  name  which  they  had,  and 
meeting  as  a  public  society  by  a  public  name  at  a 
public  hall. 

You  mean  in  the  districts  where  they  were 
strong  they  belonged  to  some  club,  or  something 
of  that  kind  ? — Either  strong  or  weak,  every  dis- 
trict, every  camp  was  compelled  to  be  known  by 
a  public  name  only. 

Ay,  ay ;  but  what  I  mean  is  the  outside  public 
would  know  them — take  your  own  illustration — 
at  Braidwood  by  the  name  of  the  Emmett  Club  ? 
—Yes. 

Would  any  person  who  was  not  prepared  to 
take,  or  had  not  taken,  the  oaths  of  the  secret  so- 
ciety be  eligible  for  the  Emmett  Club  ? — I  would 
like  to  hear  that  question  again. 

Would  anybody  except  a  sworn  member  be 
eligible  for  membership  in  the  Emmett  Club  ?^ 
He  became  a  sworn  member  as  soon  as  he  became 
a  member. 

You  mean  that  when  he  joined  the  Emmett 
Club  he  was  obliged  to  take  the  oath  ? — Yes. 

Then  no  persons  were  eligible  for  the  Emmett 
Club  unless  they  became  members  ? — The  Em- 


«58  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

mett  Club  was  the  secret  organization  and  noth- 
ing else. 

Yes,  I  understand  now^  the  public  name  of  the 
secret  organization.  You  have  handed  in  a  docu- 
ment, John  Devoy's  report  in  1880,  as  envoy? — 
Yes. 

Is  John  Devoy  a  member  of  the  United  Broth- 
erhood, or  V.  C,  or  whatever  name  it  is  known  by 
now  ? — Yes. 

Have  you  known  him  as  such  ? — For  years, 
sir. 

Recently? — Yes,  sir;  I  met  him  as  a  brother 
delegate  of  my  own  at  the  last  Convention  in  the 
month  of  June,  1888. 

What  is  John  Devoy  ? — He  has  been  a  jour- 
nalist. 

What  paper  ?^— Years  ago  he  was  telegraph 
editor  of  the  New  York  Herald.  After  that,  in 
company  with  others,  he  was  editing  a  paper 
known  as  the  Irish  Nation. 

After  that? — He  was  lecturing  through  the 
country,  subsisting  in  part  upon  that. 

Upon  the  proceeds  of  lectures  ? — Yes.  He  has 
been  actively  engaged  in  politics.  He  is  what  I 
would  term  an  Irish  professional  politician. 

In  America,  you  mean  ? — Yes. 

Is  he  connected  with  journalism  now  or  not  ? — 
I  could  not  say. 

Were  there  many  of  these  printed  documents 
which  you  produce  here — this  report  of  the  pro- 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  ^69 

ceedings  of  the  ninth  general  Convention  of  the 
V.  C.  (United  Brotherhood) — were  there  many  of 
these  printed  ? — I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining 
the  exact  number. 

Who  had  charge  of  that  ? — ^The  Executive  Body, 
with  the  assistance  of  their  paid  secretary,  prob- 
ably. 

You  have  suggested  rather  than  stated  in  your 
evidence  that  you  had  to  do  with  Gallagher  and 
Lomasney.  Did  you  take  part  in  any  deliberation 
at  which  either  of  these  wicked  plots  was  devised  ? 
— Yes,  sin 

You  yourself  took  part  ? — ^Yes,  sir. 

And  advised  in  them  ? — I  did  not  deem  myself 
of  sufficient  importance  to  make  suggestions  and 
put  myself  too  forward  in  these  matters. 

You  appeared  to  advise? — I  offered  no  objec- 
tion. 

And  gave  information  at  once  ? — Immediately. 
On  the  first  opportunity  that  presented  itself. 

And  did  you  suggest,  that  you  knew  that  Gal- 
lagher was  the  agent  in  the  one  case  and  Lomas- 
ney in  the  other  ;  did  you  suggest  that  you  knew 
at  the  time  that  either  of  these  was  selected  ?— 
Before  they  were  suggested? 

Did  you  know  when  they  were  selected  ? — The 
actual  time,  no,  sir. 

Did  you  know  that  they  had  been  selected  ? — 
—Yes. 

You  knew  that  they  had  been  selected ;  you 
24 


^MQ  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

knew  the  persons  ? — I  did,  sir,  and  was  able  to 
describe  the  persons. 

And  knew  when  they  left  the  country  ? — ^The 
exact  date,  no ;  approximately. 

I  suppose  you  had  persons  in  your  pay  helping 
you  in  this  business  ? — Not  in  my  pay. 

In  your  service  ? — I  had  friends. 

When  did  O' Donovan  Rossa,  according  to 
your  opinion,  cease  to  be  an  important  factor  in 
this  wretched  movement  ? — He  commenced  to  be 
a  bone  of  contention  immediately  following  the 
Convention  of  1879. 

And  after  that  did  his  power  wane  away  ? — It 
did  in  that  organization. 

Do  you  suggest  that  he  set  up  another? — I  say 
that  he  did. 

At  what  date  ? — I  cannot  give  you  the  exact 
date,  as  I  did  not  belong  to  it. 

Can  you  fix  the  date  at  which  O'Donovan 
Rossa  was  expelled  from  your  organization  ? — At 
this  moment,  no.  It  was  after  the  circular  of 
April  19. 

Are  you  clear  it  was  after  ?— It  was  after  the 
Convention  of  188 1,  in  fact. 

In  this  same  circular  of  yours  it  is  stated  that 
at  a  regular  meeting  of  the  V.  C.  (United  Brother- 
hood) a  resolution  was  adopted  expelling  Rossa 
from  the  V.  C.  on  account  of  this  same  action. 
How  do  you  reconcile  that  with  your  statement  ? 
— Kindly  give  me  the  date  of  that. 


272  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

April  19,  1880. — ^That  is  the  truth  if  it  so  states. 
My  recollection  is  that  I  received  notice  of  his 
expulsion  either  in  the  beginning  of  1882  or  the 
end  of  1881. 

Now,  during  the  period  from  1880  to  January, 
1882,  what  names  would  you  give  to  their  Lord- 
ships as  those  of  the  most  influential  and  most 
leading  men  in  your  organization  ? — W.  J.  Hynes, 
Alexander  Sullivan,  J.  F.  Finerty,  Dr.  Guirey, 
Judge  Prendergast,  Judge  Moran,  John  Devoy,  D. 
Cronin,  J.  D.  Breslin,  Judge  Fitzgerald,  Fitzpat- 
rick,  J.  F.  Armstrong,  of  Georgia ;  Luke  Dillon, 
Dr.  Carroll,  J.  E.  Fox,  Reynolds,  J.  D.  Carroll,  D. 
K.  Walsh. 

You  have  mentioned  the  names  I  wanted,  but 
if  you  wish  to  add  any  I  do  not  wish  to  stop  you. 
—No. 

Now,  give  me  four  or  five  of  the  most  consid- 
erable— the  most  influential — men  in  the  U.  B. 
(United  Brotherhood)  from  1880  to  1882? — I 
could  not  give  you  the  names  of  any  four ;  there 
would  not  always  be  the  same  four ;  it  changed 
hands  in  1881. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE   INFLUENTIAL   MEN. 

Well,  from  August,  1881,  to  the  end  of  1882? 
— Alexander  Sullivan,  W.  J.  Hynes,  Michael  Bo- 
land,  John  Devoy. 

Now,  I  think  that  of  these  four  names,  you 
have  mentioned  two  as  those  of  persons  you  saw 
with  a  view  of  bringing  about  what  you  describe 
as  an  understanding? — Yes,  a  better  under- 
standing. 

Those  two,  I  think,  were  Sullivan  and  Devoy? 
— And  Hynes. 

Now,  I  want  to  ask  you  about  some  of  these 
men  whose  names  you  have  enumerated.  What 
is  Sullivan? — He  is  a  lawyer  in  Chicago,  111. 

What  is  his  position  ?— As  a  lawyer  or  in  so- 
ciety? 

As  a  lawyer. — Very  good,  as  a  lawyer. 

He  does  not  move  among  the  aristocracy  of 
Chicago? — By  no  means. 

Have  you  partaken  of  his  hospitality  ?  Were 
you  intimate  with  him  socially  ? — Yes. 

Then  he  was  not  unworthy  of  your  society? — 
No;  he  was  very  useful.     (Laughter.) 

Z7Z 


^y.  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Finerty  I  think  you  mentioned?— -Yes. 

What  was  he — I  mean  as  the  world  knew  him, 
not  as  a  dynamiter  ? — He  was  first  oil  inspector 
for  the  city  of  Chicago. 

Petroleum,  I  suppose? — ^Yes.  It  is  a  political 
office. 

Was  he  a  member  of  Congress? — Yes;  he 
has  been  for  one  term. 

As  far  as  America  is  concerned,  would  you  say 
that  these  men  were  respectable  American  citi- 
zens, speaking  of  their  general  repute? — As  far  as 
America  is  concerned,  yes. 

Was  Sullivan  born  in  America  ? — He  was  born 
in  Canada,  the  son  of  a  British  soldier  and  pen- 
sioner. 

Finerty  ? — Born  in  Tipperary. 

Judge  Moran? — He  was  Judge  of  the  Appellate 
Court  of  Illinois. 

Is  that  the  Supreme  Court? — An  intermediate 
court  between  the  Circuit  and  Supreme  Court. 

Is  he  Irish-born  ? — I  could  not  tell. 

Is  he  a  man  who  holds  a  respectable  position 
as  far  as  America  is  concerned? — He  is  very 
much  respected. 

As  a  Judge  ? — Yes,  and  as  a  man,  I  believe,  in 
that  community. 

Judge  Prendergast;  is  his  reputation  good? — 
As  a  lawyer  and  as  a  judge,  among  a  certain 
party  very  good ;  with  the  other  party  very  bad. 
He  is  a  Democratic  judge,  and  is  biased  in  favor 


CHARLES  STEWART  TARNELL. 


375 


of  his  own  party,  and  unpopular  with  the  other 
party  in  consequence. 

What  is  Agnew? — He  is  now  a  builder  and 
contractor. 

Is  he  a  respectable  man  ? — Personally,  yes, 

I  think  you  mentioned  Smyth ;  what  is  he  ? — 
One  of  the  largest  furniture  merchants  in  Chicago. 

Michael  Boland;  what  was  he  ? — By  profession 
a -practicing  lawyer. 

Did  he  serve  in  the  army  during  the  war? — 
Yes. 

Is  his  position  good  as  a  lawyer  ? — No. 

Not  as  good  as  Sullivan's  ? — He  has  not  prac- 
ticed law  for  some  years ;  he  practices  spasmod- 
ically. 

What  is  his  private  character  ? — Bad.  He  has 
been  expelled  from  the  organization  for  misap- 
propriation of  funds,  and  has  a  very  bad  name. 

From  the  U.  B.  (United  Brotherhood)  organiza- 
tion ? — Yes. 

Dr.  Carroll,  of  Philadelphia ;  what  do  know  of 
him  ? — As  far  as  I  know,  a  very  fine  gentleman, 
and  a  man  of  education. 

General  Collins,  Boston  ? — As  a  politician,  very 
high. 

Did  he  also  serve  in  the  war  ? — Yes. 

Did  you  mention  him  as  a  member  of  the  U.  B. 
(United  Brotherhood)  ? — I  did  not. 

He  was  President  of  the  Land  League,  was  he 
not  ? — He  was  one  of  the  original  presidents. 


^^5  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELU 

Well,  now,  is  his  a  position  of  undoubted  re- 
spectability ?— As  far  as  I  know,  yes. 

As  far  as  his  political  position  is  concerned  he 
was  chairman,  was  he  not,  of  the  Democratic 
Convention  in  St.  Louis  which  nominated  Presi- 
dent Cleveland  ? — Yes ;  at  the  last  Convention. 

Was  it  not  in  1 88 1  that  General  Collins  was 
President  of  the  Land  League  ? — Yes. 

I  think  you  said  that  at  the  Philadelphia  Con- 
vention in  1883  he  was  again  proposed? — Yes,  his 
name  was  mentioned  there. 

You  know,  do  you  not,  that  the  members  of  the 
V.  C.  (United  Brotherhood)  objected  to  him  be- 
cause he  had  spoken  in  very  strong  condemnation 
of  the  murders  in  the  Phoenix  Park? — Yes,  it  was 
generally  mentioned. 

Do  you  suggest  that  General  Collins  was  in 
any  way  in  sympathy  with  any  except  constitu- 
tional movements  ? — At  this  date  you  are  now 
speaking  of? 

Yesi— I  do  not  suggest  that  at  this  date  he  w^as* 

Weil,  1882.— Not  in  1882. 

In  1883?— Nor  in  1883,  "P^  even  afterward  to 
my  knowledge.  I  can  only  speak  of  him  since 
1881.^^  ^  .  ''  ^ 

You  are  speaking  as  far  as  you  know  him?.r— 
Yes. 

Boyle  O'Reilly ;  was  he  a  member  of  the  U.  B.? 
—Not  to  my  knowledge. 

What  is  he  ?— Editor  of  the  Boston  Pilot. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  ^7^ 

Is  He,  or  not,  a  respectable  man  ? — He  is. 

In  good  position  ? — Among  a  certain  class,  yes. 

What  is  he  in  politics  ?• — A  Democrat. 

Is  he  in  that  set  a  man  of  good  position  and 
respected  ?— Yes. 

Hynes  you  spoke  of ;  what  is  he?— A  practic- 
ing attorney  in  Chicago. 

Has  he  a  large  practice  ? — Now,  a  very  good 
one. 

Judge  Fitzgerald ;  he  is  a  Cincinnati  gentle- 
man, is  he  not  ? — Yes. 

What  is  he? — He  has  been  admitted  to  the 
Bar,  and  has  been  a  police  magistrate  and 
aldermaii. 

James  Reynolds ;  what  was  he  ? — Engaged  in 
mercantile  business,  I  believe. 

Where  ?— New  Haven,  Connecticut. 

What  is  his  position?-^!  could  not  pass  an 
opinion. 

Then  may  I  take  it  that  as  far  as  the  American 
world  IS  cohcerni^d  the  men  I  have  mentioned, 
with  the  exception  of  Boland,  were  men  of  rer 
spectable  position  ?— In  a  certain  class,  certainly. 

Wheri  you  talk  bf  a  tertkiri  class,  do  you  mean 
with  regard  to  politics  ? — Not  altogether. 
.  What  distinction  do  you  draw  ?— Politics  con- 
stitute one  thing,  respectability  and  morality 
another.  A  man  pointed  out  as  charged  with 
murder  could  not  move  in  respectable  society. 

J  am  asking,  a;sr  fkr  a$  the  world  is  cdnpbrried, 


ij^g  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

and  not  with  regard  to  any  felonious  designs 
which  they  may  or  may  not  have  in  concert  with 
yourself? — Not  all  good. 

A  great  many  of  them — Most  of  them.  I  think 
the  majority. 

Am  I  not  right  in  saying  that  if  by  any  means 
the  control  of  the  nomination  of  the  permanent 
chairman  of  the  Land  League  Convention  had 
been  lost,  with  him  rested  the  appointment  of  the 
executive  ? — Not  always.  That  was  done  by  vote 
of  the  Convention.  The  majority  in  the  Con- 
vention decided  that  matter  always. 

In  reply  to  Sir  Charles  Russell's  cross-ques- 
tions, Le  Caron  considerably  modified  a  part  of 
his  previous  testimony.  For  instance,  he  swore 
that  **  it  was  perfecriy  true  that  the  Parnell 
League  meetings  in  every  State  were  honored 
with  the  presence  of  hundreds  of  governors  and 
mayors  of  States  and  ex-governors  and  mayors 
of  States,  the  judges  of  the  State  Supreme  Court, 
of  literary  men  of  eminence,  of  clergymen  of 
every  denomination,  and  men  of  distinction  in 
every  walk  of  life — Americans,  not  merely  Irish." 

Le  Caron*s  attempts  to  make  the  Commission 
believe  that  the  League  officers  were  almost  all 
U.  B.  men  were  upset  by  Sir  Charles  Russell's 
sharp  fire  of  incisive  questions.  Thus  the  latter 
reading  aloud  this  list :  The  Hon.  F.  A.  Collins, 
president ;  Patrick  Cronin,  vice-president ;  T.  V. 
Powderly,     second      vice-president;     Lawrence 


^gQ  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Walsh,  of  Waterbury,  and  T.  Flaherty,  treasurers, 
asked  Le  Caron,  Do  you  suggest  that  any  of  these 
were  members  of  the  United  Brotherhood  P-—^ 
Powderly. 

The  Mayor  of  Scranton  ? — ^Yes,  he  was  a  dis- 
trict member. 

Of  the  U.  B.  ?— At  that  time  V.  C. 

Anybody  else  ?• — That  is  the  only  one  I  recol- 
lect. 

What  was  Powderly  ? — District  member. 

I  do  not  mean  with  regard  to  organization, 
what  was  his  position  in  the  world  ? — He  was 
mayor  of  Scranton,  in  Pennsylvania. 

But  being  mayor  was  not  his  business.  What 
business  had  he  ? — As  long  as  I  have  known  him 
he  has  had  no  business.  He  might  have  had  af 
one  time.  He  is  one  of  the  originators  of  the 
organization  and  has  supreme  command  of  the 
Knights  of  Labor. 

Do  you  suggest  that  Powderly  was  a  man  in 
favor  of  a  villainous  policy  of  dynamite  outrage  ? 
— In  1880?     I  would  not  judge  the  man. 

Here  is  another  failure   in  the  same  direction : 

Was  General  Jones  a  member  of  the  United 
Brotherhood? — He  was  not  a  member  of  the  U. 
B.,  but  he  took  a  very  important  part  in  the  work 
of  the  organization. 

Was  he  a  member  of  the  U.  B.  or  not  ? — No. 
I  will  explain.  He  was  always  an  active  worker 
in  connection  with  the  U.  B.  or  the  V.  C.  (United 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  ^gj 

Brotherhood)  men,  and  was  the  negotiator  be- 
tween the  Russian  Minister  at  Washington  and 
the  Revokitionary  Directory,  to  form  an  alliance 
to  make  war  upon  a  Power  then  at  peace  with 
Russia.     The  first  negbtiatioiis  commenced — 

The  President.T^Do  you  want  to  follow  this  up, 
Sir  Charles  ?      . 

Sir  C.  Russell. — ^^Nb,  my  Lord.  (To  witness.) 
Did  you  make  a  report  upon  -  that  to  your  em- 
ployers?—! did. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

HOW   LE   CARON   WAS   PAID. 

The  best  way  in  which  I  can  tell  my  readers 
the  inside  facts  about  the  payment  of  blood- 
money  to  Le  Caron  by  the  British  Government 
and  its  representative  on  American  shores— the 
Canadian  Government — is  to  quote  the  fellow's 
own  sworn  testimony. 

Cross-examined  by  Mr.  Reid. — ^Who  first  in- 
troduced you  to  the  U.  B.  in  America  ?— I  intro- 
duced myself. 

When  was  that  ?— In  1865. 

Did  you  not  become  a  member  of  that  associa- 
tion on  the  invitation  of  anybody  ? — My  particu- 
lar friends  were  J.  D.  O'Reilly  and  General  John 
O'Neill. 

Who  introduced  you  to  the  U.  B.  or  V.  C,  or 
whatever  it  is  called  ? — Alexander  Sullivan,  per- 
sonally. 

You  told  us  that  for  the  first  three  years  you 
received  no  pay  from  the  government?- — Not  one 
cent. 

382 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  ^^^ 

During  that  time  were  you  communicating  with 
the  government  to  the  same  extent  and  with  the 
same  frequency  as  afterward  ? — Oh  !  dear,  no. 

You  only  occasionally  communicated  with  the 
government,  then,  during  those  three  years? — 
My  communications  only  extended  over  some  six 
months  altogether  at  that  time. 

In  the  first  three  years  ? — -Yes. 

When  was  it  that  you  first  became  in  the  regu- 
lar pay  of  the  government? — In  February,  1868. 

What  was  the  arrangement  about  your  pay  ?-r- 
That  I  should  have  sent  to  me  from  time  to  time 
no  specific  sum  but  ample  funds.. 

And  that  arrangement,  I  suppose,  was  acted 
upon  until  the  present  date  ;  until  quite  recently  ? 
—No. 

When  did  that  arrangement  terminate  ? — It  ter- 
minated in  the  month  of  August,  1870 — that  is, 
the  specific  arrangement. 

During  that  period  did  you  receive  large  sums  ? 
— During  the  whole  of  that  period  I  received 
;^50  a  month. 

Was  any  part  of  that  money  spent  by  you  on 
your  own  expenditure  ? — During  that  time  it  did 
not  cover  my  expenses. 

You  spent  more  than  ;^5o  a  month  ? — I  did. 

Do  you  mean  in  paying  other  persons  ? — No. 

How  did  you  spend  the  money  then  ? — in  what 
way? — In  traveling  about  the  country  and  in  sup- 
porting my  family. 


^34  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

In  anything  else  ?  My  general  expenses  were 
very  high. 

Of  course,  supporting  a  family  is  what  we  all 
have  to  do,  whether  we  receive  money  from  the 
Government  or  not.  (Laughter.)  '  But  I  am 
speaking  of  your  expenditure  in  reference  to  your 
commission  from,  or  duty  to,  the  Home  Govern- 
ment. What  was  your  expenditure  during  that 
period  ?—r  received  during  that  period  far  more 
than  the  sums  I  hav^  mentioned  for  expenses,  biit 
not  from  the  Home  Government. 

Do  you  mean  from  private  persons? — No }  f 
am  now  referring  to  the  Canadian  authorities;  ■ 

How  much  money  in  all  did  you  receive  from 
the  Home  Government,  or  from  the  Golohial 
Government? — Altogether,  I  should  put  it  alt 
about  ^2,060.  '■  ■ 

During  the  three  years? — Yes.  About  that. 
That  includes  expenses  for  men  who  were  in  daily 
communication  with  me. 

Men  who  were  in  your  pay? — No;  their  sala- 
ries were  paid  by  either  the  Home  or  the  Cana- 
dian Governments.  I  merely  paid  their  expenses. 

How  much  of  this  ^2,000  do  you  say  you  spent 
for  public  purposes,  apart  from  what  you  ex- 
pended for  your  private  requirements? — ^^Every 
cent. 

What  was  it  that  you  spent  it  in?  I  do  not 
want  the  names  of  persons,  but  the  class  of  ex- 
penditure.— Well,  sir,  I  can  produce  oiie  import-i 


CHiVRLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  ^Sj 

ant  item.  I  lent  Mr.  Johii  O'Neill  $365.40  to 
save  his  reputation  and  to  secure  a  strong  hold 
of  him.  He  was  in  default,  and  that  gave  me  an 
immense  control  over  the  man. 

]L  think  you  told  me  that  it  included  the  expedi- 
ture.for  the  support  of  your  family  ? — I  did.  My 
family  lived  upon  a  portion  of  the  sum. 

Yqu  say  that  the  arrangement  was  altered  after 
1870.  Was  some  new  arrangement  made? — It 
was.  ..  >..:;■  ■■.•    ■  -^ 

Have  you  been  receiving  sums  of  money  since  ? 

Very  considerable  sums  of  money? — In  the 
aggregate,  yes.  ;.  :i:  .  c  <  .  -      -        ^* 

And  I  suppose  you  lived  upon  it  as  well  as 
spent  it  for  the  purposes  in  which  you  were  en- 
gaged ? — ^Yes,  I  spent  it  in  many  ways* 


CHAPTER  XXXir. 


THE    FORGED   LETTERS. 


It  was  on  Thursday,  February  14th,  that  the 
London  Times  people  put  their  solicitor,  Soames^ 
on  the  stand,  to  talk  about  the  alleged  Parnell 
letters,  fac-simlles  of  which  had  been  printed  m 
the  Times,  He  swore  that  the  Times  obtained 
all  of  those  letters  from  Pigott,  and  that  the  price 
paid  for  all  of  them,  including  the  famous  letter 
of  May  25th,  was  less  than  ^25,000.  Soames 
produced  five  letters,  and  the  Attorney-General 
said  they  had  been  photographed,  at  the  same 
time  handing  photographs  to  Chief  Justice  Han- 
nan.  Soames  said  the  letters  were  submitted  to 
an  expert  in  April,  1887,  but  before  that  genuine 
specimens  of  Parnell's  writing  were  collected, 
and  other  specimens  were  since  gathered.  He 
submitted  genuine  specimens  of  Mr.  Parnell's 
signature,  which  he  had  obtained  since  the  fac- 
similes were  published,  including  letters  and 
summonses,  which  Parnell  signed  as  magistrate, 
orders  of  admission  to  the  House  of  Commons,  a 
paragraph  written  for  a  newspaper,  and  the  Kil- 

malnham  Jail  book,    one   containing   nine  signa- 
386 


CHARLES  STEWART  TARNELL.  387 

tures,  the  first  written  in  December,  1881,  and 
the  last  in  May,  1882.  Soames  said  he  believed 
that  the  body  of  the  famous  letter  was  written  by 
Mr.  Campbell,  Parnell's  private  secretary,  and 
the  signature  by  Mr.  Parnell.  He  spoke  of  other 
letters  written  by  Egan,  O'Kelly  and  Davitt, 
which  were  found  in  informer  Carey^s  house  and 
elsewhere.  The  first  payment  for  alleged  letters 
to  Pigott  was^i,ooo;  the  successive  payments, 
which  were  all  made  by  Houston,  Secretary  of 
the  Loyal  Orange  Patriotic  League,  were  ^200, 
/30,  /40,  £11,  /180,  /550,  /342  and  ;^ioo. 
In  all  Pigott  turned  over  twelve  of  Parnell's  let- 
ters up  to  January,  \%ZZy  and  these,  with  the 
later  letters  of  Egan  and  others,  made  a  total  of 
seventeen. 

On  the  following  day,  Parnell  and  his  friends 
were  put  in  high  glee  by  the  result  of  evidence 
given  before  the  Commission  by  Soames*  attor- 
ney and  MacDonald,  tlie  manager  of  the  Times, 
It  was  generally  acknowledged  that  such  an  ex- 
posure of  imbecility  and  recklessness  on  the  part 
of  men  controlling  the  greatest  newspaper  was 
rarely  before  seen.  MacDonald  confessed  that 
when  he  published  the  forged  letter  he  had  taken 
no  means  whatever  to  examine  its  authenticity 
beyond  a  reference  to  one  handwriting  expert. 
He  had  never  asked  for '  information,  had  not 
even  asked  the  name  of  the  recipient  of  the  letter.* 
He  did  not  know,  and  did   not  ask  for  months 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  389 

afterwards,  from  whom  the  letters  had  been  ob- 
tained by  the  Times  agent,  and  did  not  know  till 
this  day  whom  they  were  supposed  to  be  directed 
to.  The  people  in  the  Court  almost  stood  aghast 
at  this  open  confession  of  the  incredible  reckless- 
ness with  which  the  charge  of  .incitement  to 
assassination  was  mad6  by  the  greatest  paper  in 
England.  A  part  of  the  examination  revealed  a 
nice,  little  counterplot  going  on  for  weeks.  Parnell 
knew  months  ago  that  Pigott  had  forged  the  let- 
ters. Labouchere,  who  is  warm  in  favor  of  the 
Irish  party,  and  who  has  great  love  for  amateur 
detective  work,  got  into  communication  with 
Pigott,  and  from  his  own  lips  received  a  confes- 
sion of  forgery.  The  forgery  was  not  by  tracing 
over,  but  by  imitating  the  handwriting  for  a  long 
time.  The  exposure  of  the  signature  to  a  micro-* 
scope  reveals  that  it  was  broken  at  several  points/ 
showing  trepidation  and  slowness. '  Forger  Pigott 
xarefully  considered  a  long  time  whether  it  was 
better  to  make  a  clean  breast,,  in  hopes  of  reward, 
to  Labouchere,  or  to  stick  to  the  Times, 

And  now  I  come  to  the  memorable  day  Aat 
brought  Pigott  oii  the  stand,  and  it  is  neces!s|iy 
for  a  thorough  understanding  of  this  aged  ruf&n's 
testimony  and  perfidy  that  I  should  quote  Secre- 
tary Houston's  evidence  on  cross-examination. 

He  said  he  destroyed  Pigott's  letter  to  him,  in 
accordance  with  an  agreement  made  between 
them,,  that  they  were  intended  for  the.  witness^ 


390  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

eye  alone,  and  were  not  to  be  used  publicly.  Up 
to  the  time  the  witness  went  to  Paris,  Pigott  had 
not  given  him  the  names  of  any  of  the  persons 
connected  with  the  letters  secured  by  the  Times, 
He  did  not  consider  that  a  knowledge  of  the  men 
from  whom  the  letters  were  obtained  was  impor- 
tant in  connection  with  the  question  of  their 
genuineness.  Witness  said  his  part  was  done 
when  the  letters  were  obtained.  He  accepted 
them  without  securing  any  means  of  testing 
Pigott's  statement  in  the  event  of  their  genuine- 
ness being  questioned,  because  he  understood 
that  it  was  useless  to  attempt  to  make  a  complete 
case,  and  further  inquiry  would  only  handicap 
himself. 

He  had  no  means  whatever  of  testing  any  part 
of  Pigott's  story,  which  he  regarded  as  probable, 
especially  as  the  newspaper  reports  of  the  dispute 
between  Mr.  Parnell  and  the  American  extremist, 
to  some  extent,  confirmed  Pigott's  story  that  the 
letters  were  left  in  a  bag  found  in  a  room  in  Paris. 
Witness  showed  the  letters  to  Lord  Hartington 
and  asked  his  advice  as  to  their  disposition,  but 
his  Lordship  refused  to  advise  him.  He  did  not 
offer  the  letters  to  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette.  He  saw 
Mr.  Stead,  editor  of  the  Gazette^  before  he  ob- 
tained possession  of  the  letters,  and  asked  him  to 
make  up  matter  that  would  lead  to  the  disclosure. 
Mr.  Stead  said  he  had  lost  ;^3,ooo  by  the  publica- 
tion of  the    ''Modern  Babylon"  articles,  and  he 


CHARLES  STEWART  TARNELL.  39 1 

would  not  like  to  touch  anything  else  unless  he 
knew  it  would  be  successful 

When  witness  visited  Paris  he  had  no  genuine 
specimens  of  either  Mr.  Parnell's  or  Mr.  Egan's 
writing.  He  accepted  the  letters  solely  on  Pigott's 
words. 

*4f,"  said  the  witness,  *'  Pigott  had  been  needy 
or  fraudulent  enough  to  attempt  to  commit  per- 
jury, my  actions  would  have  assisted  him,  but  I 
do  not  admit  that  he  was  either.  Pigott's  inter- 
views with  Mr.  Labouchere  shook  my  faith  in  him, 
and,  therefore,  my  mind  was  not  easy  until  he  had 
signed  the  sworn  declaration." 

Witness  further  said  that  he  might  have  told 
Mr.  Stead  that  Messrs.  Sexton  and  Dillon  were 
implicated  in  the  Phoenix  Park  murders,  but  if  he 
did  so,  it  was  on  the  authority  of  a  statement  made 
by  Eugene  Davis  to  Pigott,  a  copy  of  which  was 
produced  by  the  witness.  He  did  not  know  where 
the  original  was.  Two  days  before  the  commis- 
sion opened,  Pigott  wrote  him  an  abusive  letter, 
demanding  that  after  giving  testimony  before  the 
commission  he  should  be  given  ^5,000. 

Mr.  Houston  said  that  Pigott  told  him  to  whom 
several  of  the  letters  were  addressed.  He  did 
not  think  that  Pigott's  statements  were  very  accu- 
rate, because  Pigott  only  repeated  what  other 
persons  said.  Between  October,  1886,  and  Jan- 
uary, 1888,  he  had  paid  Pigott  ^200,  but  the  Twtes 
paid  the  bill  from  May,  1887.     He  understood 

25 


392  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

that  PIgott  obtained  the  second  batch  of  let- 
ters from  the  same  friends  that  supplied  the  first 
batch,  but  he  did  not  inquire  about  the  matter. 
He  did  not  think  it  strange  that  the  second  batch 
was  not  obtained  earlier.  Prior  to  November, 
Pigott  informed  witness  that  Mr.  Welehan,  a 
Tullamore  solicitor,  had  called  upon  him  and  in- 
formed him  that  a  gentleman  from  America  wanted 
to  have  an  interview  with  him  in  London.  He  did 
not  say  that  the  man  came  from  Egan.  Welehan 
asked  Pigott  if  he  had  any  of  Egan's  letters,  as 
he  was  prepared  to  purchase  them  at  a  high  price. 
Pigott,  when  he  wrote  to  witness,  demanding 
;^5,ooo,  said  he  had  been  coerced  in  Mr.  Soames* 
office,  into  making  a  statement  under  false  pre- 
tenses.    Witness  did  not  answer  the  letter. 

Attorney-General  Webster  read  a  copy  of  the 
notes  made  by  Pigott  of  the  latter  s  conversation 
with  Eugene  Davis.  According  to  these  notes, 
Davis  stated  that  Egan  took  him  into  his  con- 
fidence. Davis  knew  that  the  I.  R.  B.  and  tlie  T. 
B.  were  connected  with  the  League  one  working 
openly  and  the  other  secretly  the  *'B.  S."  finding 
men  and  the  League  finding  money.  Egan  was 
in  Paris  with  Parnell,  O'Kelly,  Dillon,  Brennan 
and  Harris,  in  1 88 1 .  He  told  Davis  that  he  had  had 
long  conferences  with  those  gentlemen,  and  that 
all  had  agreed  that  the  situation  rendered  reprisals 
against  England  imperative,  and  that  England's 
power  could  be  neutralized  only  by  removing  as 


CHARtES  STEWART  PARNELL.  593 

many  of  her  leading  men  as  possible.  Walsh, 
Sheridan  and  others  were  to  be  sent  to  Ireland  to 
plan  the  murders.  Immediately  after-^  Parnell's 
arrest,  Egan  appealed  to  the  Fenian  leaders  to 
execute  the  work  more  energetically.  Walsh  went 
to  Dublin  and  appointed  Carey,  Mullett  and  Cur- 
ley  as  chief  men.  Tynan,  Byrne,  Colbert  and 
Sheridan  were  also  associated  with  him,  Egan 
was  invariably  consulted  regarding  projected  out- 
rages and  murders.  Egan  strongly  reproved 
Tynan  for  failing  to  appear  at  Kingbridge  in  time 
to  give  the  signal  for  Mr.  Forster's  murder. 
Davis  was  present  in  a  cafe  in  Paris  when  Tynan 
related  the  whole  history  of  the  Phoenix  Park 
murders.  Tynan  took  pride  in  having  given  the 
signal  for  the  attack.  Egan  professed  to  be  highly 
delighted,  but  regretted  that  Tynan  had  not  com- 
menced work  earlier.  Egan  gave  Byrne  a  letter, 
a  fac-simile  of  which  was  published  by  the  Times, 
There  was  a  plot  to  murder  the  Prince  of  Wales 
and  Mr.  Gladstone,  during  the  carnival  at  Cannes. 
Byrne  and  Tynan  were  under  the  instructions,  but 
did  not  attempt  to  carry  out  the  plan.  Houston, 
under  cross-examination,  said  he  did  not  regard 
all  oi  the  statements  as  accurate.  This  reply  was 
greeted  with  laughter.  Houston  said  that  the 
suggestion  that  he  destroyed  Pigott's  letters  be- 
cause they  cast  doubt  upon  the  genuineness  of  the 
letters  published  by  the  Times,  was  without  foun- 
dation.    He  destroyed  them  because  he  believed 


394  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

that,  if  they  were  allowed  to  exist  and  were  pub- 
lished, the  lives  of  certain  persons  would  be 
placed  at  the  mercy  of  certain  assassins.  Reply- 
ing to  Sir  Charles  Russell,  Houston  said  that 
Davis  was  in  England  iand  that  Soames  subpoe- 
naed him. 

PIGOTT,    THE   PERJURER. 

Richard  Pigott,  a  well-dressed  and  benevolent-, 
looking  man,  apparently  about  sixty  years  of  age, 
was  then  called.  He  testified  that  he  was  pro- 
prietor of  the  Fenian  organ,  the  Irishman,  in  1865. 
He  belonged  to  the  Supreme  Council,  F.  B.  All 
the  members  of  the  Amnesty  Association  in  187*0 
were  Fenians.  Parnell  belonged,  and  about  1871 
Biggar,  Barry,  Harris,  Nearey,  Mullett  and  Mur- 
phy belonged  to  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  I.  R.  B. 
Witness  belonged  to  the  R.  B.  until  August, 
1 88 1.     He  was  not  an  active  member. 

He  detailed  the  negotiations  in  1879,  by  which 
the  Irishman  and  the  Flag  of  Ireland  were  sold 
to  accompany  in  which  Parnell  and  Egan  were 
shareholders.  He  did  not  doubt  that  the  Leagues 
provided  the  money.  Later  Egan  said  he  pro- 
posed to  render  the  lives  of  the  English  officials 
in  England  not  worth  an  hour's  purchase,  and, 
replying  to  a  question,  said  that  of  course  Parnell 
was  aware  of  this  proposal. 

The  witness  continued  slightly  in  touch  with 
the  I.  R.  B.  after  the  sale  of  his  papers.  Directly 
^fter  Egan's  flight  to  Paris,  Pigott  received  .a  letter ^ 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  395 

in  which  Egan  asked  for  the  address  of  Davis, 
who  was  a  writer  for  the  Irishman,  and  who  had 
gone  to  Paris  to  prepare  for  the  priesthood.  Pigott 
corroborated  Mr.  Houston's  testimony  with  refer- 
ence to  the  preliminstry  negotiations  regarding 
the  search  for  documents.  It  was  understood  that 
the  affair  should  be  kept  absolutely  secret.  He 
did  not  know  Davis  then,  except  as  a  contributor 
to  the  Irishman,  Davis  signed  his  articles, 
'*  Owen  Roe." 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE   END   OF   "DIRTY   DICK." 

THE  sensation  of  the  next  day's  proceedings 
was  the  production  at  the  opening  of  the 
court,  by  Sir  Charles  Russell,  of  two  letters  which 
"Dirty  Dick  Pigott'*  wrote  to  Archbishop  Walsh, 
of  Dublin.  The  first  of  them  is  worthy  of  publi- 
cation, inasmuch  as  it  was  written  only  three  days 
before  The  Times  published  the  forged  Parnell 
letters.     It  read  as  follows : 

"  Private  and  Confidential  :  My  Lord — The 
importance  of  the  matter  about  which  I  write  will 
doubtless  excuse  this  intrusion  on  your  attention. 
I  briefly  wish  to  say  that  I  have  been  made  aware 
of  the  details  of  certain  proceedings,  which  are 
in  preparation,  with  the  object  of  destroying  the 
influence  of  the  Parnellite  party  in  Parliament. 
I  cannot  enter  more  fully  into  details  than  to 
state  that  the  proceedings  referred  to  consist  in  the 
publication  of  certain  statements  purporting  to 
prove  the  complicity  of  Parnell  himself  and  some 
of  his  supporters  in  murders  and  outrages  in 
Ireland,  to  be  ibllowed,  in  all  probability,  by  the 

(396) 


CHARLES  STEWART   PARNEL  397 

institution  of  criminal  proceedings  against  those 
parties  by  the  Government.     Your  grace  may  be 
assured  that  what  I  speak  is  with  full  knowledge, 
and  I  am  in  a  position  to  prove  beyond  all  doubt 
or  question  the  truth  of  what  I  say ;  and  I  will 
further  assure  your  grace  that  I  am  also  able  to 
point  out  how  these  designs  may  be  successfully 
combated   and   finally  defeated.     I   assure  your 
grace  that  I  have  no  other  motive  except  to  re- 
spectfully suggest  that  your  grace  would   com- 
municate the  substance  of  what  I  state  to  some  one 
or  other  of  the  parties  concerned  [on,  however,  the 
specific   understanding   that   my   name   be  kept 
secret]  to  whom  I  could  furnish  details  and  ex- 
hibit proofs  and  suggest  how  the  coming  blow  may 
be  effectively  met.     For  reasons  which,  no  doubt, 
your  grace  will  have  no  difficulty  in  discovering,  I 
could  not  apply  to  any  of  the  parties  direct,  and  that 
is  why  I  venture  to  ask  your  grace's  interference. 
At  the  same  time  I  know  that  in  adopting  this 
course  I  run  the  risk  of  incurring  your  grace's 
displeasure,  but  perhaps  the  deep  interest  which 
your  grace  is  known  to  take  in  the  preservation 
of  the  integrity  of  the  party  that  is  so  seriously 
threatened  will  plead   my  excuse.     Moreover,  I 
am  forced  to  beg  your  grace's  assistance  from  a 
strong  conviction  in  my  own  mind,  founded  on 
what  I  have  learned  and  the  evidence  relied  on, 
which  is  prima  facie  serious,  that  the  proceedings, 
unless  met  in  the  way  I  can  sqgg^est,  will  succeed 


398  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

in  their  object.  In  any  case,  therefore,  I  trust 
your  grace  will  regard  this  letter  as  private  and 
confidential,  except  that  it  may  be  referred  to  in 
furtherance  of  the  motives  with  which  it  was 
sent. 

"  Pi  S. — I  need  hardly  add  that  did  I  consider 
the  parties  really  guilty  of  the  things  charged 
against  them  I  should  not  dream  of  suggesting 
that  your  grace  should  take  part  in  an  effort  to  shield 
them.  I  only  wish  to  impress  upon  your  grace 
that  the  evidence  is  apparently  convincing  and 
probably  would  ensure  conviction  if  submitted  to 
an  English  jury. 

"Richard  Pigott.'* 

One  other  incident  was  very  significant.  Be- 
fore asking  a  single  question  in  cross-examination. 
Sir  Charles  Russell  directed  Pioott  to  write  the 
following  words  on  a  sheet  of  paper :  **  Likelihood, 
livelihood,  proselytism,  Patrick  Egan,  hesitancy." 
Pigott  spelled  the  latter  "  ency  "  instead  of"  ancy," 
and  the  same  mistake  was  made  in  the  forged 
Parnell  letter. 

On  being  closely  pressed  on  the  witness  stand, 
Pigott  voluntarily  exclaimed :  "  I  may  say  at  once 
that  the  statements  I  made  to  Archbishop  Walsh 
were  unfounded."  This,  of  course,  produced  a 
sensation,  which  was  intensified  when  Sir  Charles 
Russell  said  to  him,  "You  deliberately  wrote 
lies." 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  39S 

He  admitted  having  written  to  Patrick  Egan, 
attempting  to  blackmail  him  for  the  sum  of  /500, 
and  having  also  on  June  2,  1881,  offered  the  late 
William  E.  Forster,  then  Chief  Secretary  for 
Ireland,  papers  which  he  said  would  break  up  the 
league  for  ^i  500  or  ;^iooo,  Forster  then  loaned 
Pigott  ^^150  as  a  "private  loan."  Sir  Charles 
Russell  produced  letter  after  letter  until  the  wit- 
ness became  jiazed  and  forgot  everything,  or  pre- 
tended to,  declaring  that  wl:iile  the  letters  were 
his,  he'*  had  no  recollection' of  them."-  He  de- 
nied hody  having  "fabricated  the  forged  let- 
ters." 

On  the  morning  of  Saturday,  February  23, 
1889,  Pigott  went  to  the  residence  of  Mr.  Henry 
Labouchere,  and  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  George 
Augustus  Sala,  signed  a  confession  stating  that 
the  letters  upon  which  the  Times  based  its  charges 
acrainst  the  Irish  members  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons  were  forgeries.  He  said  that  he  had  forged 
all  the  letters  secured  by  the  Times,  which  pur- 
ported to  have  been  written  by  Patrick  Egan, 
Charles  Stewart  Parnell,  Michael  Davitt  and  Mr. 
O'Kelly.  That  statement  or  confession  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Commission  on  the  following 
Wednesday  amid  the  greatest  excitement.  Pigott 
was  called  to  again  take  the  stand,  but  he  did  nSt 
appear.  It  was  found  that  he  had  fled,  and  war- 
rants were  issued  for  his  arrest.  It  is  due  to  my 
good  friend,  the  Hon.  Patrick  Egan,  that  I  should 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  401 

State  here  and  now  that  he  was  the  man  who  dis- 
covered PIgott's  vile  plots,  unearthed  his  forgeries 
and  sent  such  complete  information  on  those  sub- 
jects from  America  to  Parnell  that  the  latter  was 
able  through  Labouchere  to  wring  a  confession 
of  his  guilt-  from  "  Dirty  Dick." 

On  the  1st  of  March,  1889,  Pigott  was  arrested 
at  the  Hotel  Des  Ambassadeurs,  in  Madrid,  Spain, 
where  he  had  registered  under  the  name  of 
Ronald  Ponsonby.  When  he  was  arrested  he 
apparently  took  the  situation  calmly,  and  thus 
threw  the  officers  off  the  scent.  With  the  excuse 
that  he  wished  to  get  his  overcoat  he  retired  to 
an  alcove  and  there  shot  himself  in  the  mouth 
with  a  revolver.     He  died  instantly. 

Attorney-General  Webster  tendered  an  apology 
on  behalf  of  the  Times  for  the  publication  of  the 
forged  letters,  and  the  Times  editorially,  while 
endorsing  that  apology,  said:  "We  deem  it  right 
to  express  our  regret  most  fully  and  sincerely 
that  having  been  induced  tp  publish  the  letters  as 
Mr.  Parnell's  or  to  use  them  in  evidence  against 
him." 

That  really  ended  the  Times  case  and  vindicated 
Mr.  Parnell  triumphantly  before  the  world,  Mr. 
Parnell,  finding  it  impossible  to  respond  to  the 
multitude  of  letters  he  received  from  both  Europe 
and  America,  congratulating  him  upon  the  col- 
lapse of  the  Times  case  against  him,  thanked  the 
writers  through  the  press,  which  nobly  stood  by 


402  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

him  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  The  com- 
munications received  by  Mr.  Parnell  comprised 
letters  from  unexpected  quarters  and  from 
persons  in  the  highest  ranks  of  art,  literature,  and 
science. 

THE   O'SHEA    DIVORCE    CASE. 

The  trial  of  the  O'Shea  divorce  case  began  in 
the  Divorce  Court,  in  London,  on  Monday  morn- 
ing, November  17,  1890,  before  Justice  Butt  and 
a  special  jury.  A  few  days  before  that  Mr.  Pair- 
nell  inspired  his  followers  with  courage  and  set 
at  rest  the  hopes  of  the  Tories  and  the  fears  of 
the  Liberals  pro  tempore  existente  by  the  following 
letter  which  he  sent  to  the  Irish  members : 

"  Dear  Sirs — You  will  permit  me,  in  accordance 
with  my  usual  custom,  to  remind  the  members  of 
the  Irish  Parliamentary  Party  that  the  session 
will  open  on  Tuesday,  the  25th  inst.,  when  it  is 
most  desirable  that  our  full  strength  should  be 
available. 

"  I  wish  to  lay  stress  upon  the  necessity  for  the 
attendance  of  every  man  upon  the  opening  day, 
as  it  is  unquestionable  that  the  coming  session 
will  be  one  of  combat  from  the  first  to  the  last, 
and  that  great  issues  depend  upon  its  course. 
I  am,  dear  sirs, 

"  Yours  truly, 

"  Charles  Stewart  Parnell." 

Contrary  to  public  expectation  neither   Mrs. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  403 

O'Shea  nor  Mr.  Parnell  were  represented  by 
counsel  at  the  hearing  of  the  divorce  suit.  As 
neither  the  respondent  nor  co-respondent  made 
any  defense,  the  case  was  given  to  the  jury  on 
the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  it  was  opened, 
and  they  returned  a  verdict  that  adultery  had 
been  committed  by  Mrs.  O'Shea  and  Parnell,  and 
that  there  had  been  no  connivance  on  the  part 
of  Captain  O'Shea.  The  court  granted  a  decree 
in  divorce,  with  costs  to  the  petitioner,  and  also 
awarded  him  the  custody  of  the  younger  children. 
This  trial  marked  the  beginning  of  the  end  of 
Parriell's  career  as  an  Irish  statesman. 

It  is  but  simple  justice  to  Mrs.  O'Shea  and  to 
our  departed  friend  and  leader  to  say  that  there 
are  grave  doubts  among  well-informed  parties  as 
to  their  guilt.  Both  of  them  proud,  high-strung, 
and,  to  a  large  extent,  imperious. in  their  natures, 
disdained  to  go  before  a  divorce  court,  either  to 
explain  or  palliate  the  alleged  questionable  trans- 
actions in  which  Captain  O'Shea  declared  they 
were  guilty  participants.  As  Mrs.  Delia  T.  S. 
Parnell  says  of  Mrs.  Kate  O'Shea,  "  She  comes 
of  illustrious  ancestry,  not  one  of  whom  have  at 
any  time  been-  even  suspected  of  being  guilty  of 
anything  dishonorable.  Her  immediate  family 
were  on  terms  of  the  closest  intimacy  with  Queen 
Victoria  and  the  members  of  the  royal  family,  and 
all  of  them  were  proud  to  recognize  her  as  her 
friend.     Her  ardent  love  for  Ireland,  although 


404  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

differing  in  race,  her  deep  and  earnest  sympathies 
for  the  suffering  and  down-trodden  peasantry, 
naturally  attracted  Mr.  Parnell  to  her.  They 
moved  in  the  same  social  circle,  and  being  a 
woman  of  great  influence  he  naturally  sought  her 
presence  to  gain  that  influence  for  his  people. 

It  is  difficult  to  describe — in  an  adequate  way 
— the  tremendous  excitement  that  the  issue  of 
the  trial  raised  in  every  part  of  the  civilized 
world.  Calls  were  heard  on  all  sides,  imperiously 
demanding  that  Parnell  should  "retire^'  from  the 
leadership  of  his  party.  Calls  equally  loud  and 
equally  as  imperious  were  made  upon  him  to 
"stand  firm,"  and  unfortunately,  indeed,  for  the 
success  of  the  Irish  cause  the  members  of  the 
Irish  Parliamentary  Party  became  divided.  Fre- 
quent meetings  of  the  party  were  held  in  caucus 
and  fiery  speeches  made  by  his  friends  and 
opponents,  resulting  finally  in  a  split  and  the 
formation  of  opposing  clans  who  have  now  gone 
down  to  history  under  the  titles  of  "  Parnellites '* 
and  "Anti-Parnellites."  The  minority  stood  by  him 
and  the  majority,  largely  through  the  influence  of 
Healy,  Dillon,  Davitt  and  O'Brien,  named  Justin 
McCarthy  as  their  leader.  At  this  time  John 
Dillon  and  William  O'Brien  were  In  this  country, 
having  escaped  the  detectives  who  held  warrants 
for  their  arrest.  They  were  accompanied  by  Ex- 
Mayor  O'Sullivan,  of  Dublin,  T.  P.  O'Connor,  T. 
P.   Gill,   and  Timothy   Harrington.     They   had 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARXELL.  405 

come  for  the  purpose  of  raising  money  for  the 
Irish  Parliamentary  Fund,  and  had  addressed 
immense  mass  meetingrs  in  Philadelphia,  New 
York  and  Chicago.  They  had  already  raised 
almost  Jioopoo  in  a  brief  stay  of  but  a  few  days, 
when  the  news  was  flashed  over  the  cable  of  the 
orrave  situation  in  Irish  affairs. 

o 

Numerous  conferences  were  held  by  them  with 
leading  Irish-Americans.  I  pardcipated  in  a 
number  of  those  conferences,  and  am  free'to  say 
that  at  all  of  them  the  most  kindly  feeling  was 
invariably  exhibited  on  their  part  towards  Mr. 
Parnell.  They  finally  decided,  after  a 'letter  had 
been  published  from  Mr.  Gladstone,  demanding 
Mr.  Parnell's  retirement,  that  for  the  sake  of  the 
cause  which  they  represented  he  should  at  least 
retire  temporarily. 

On  Friday,  November  28,  1890,  Mr.  Parnell 
issued  a  manifesto  to  the  Irish  people,  and  set 
forth  why,  in  his  opinion,  it  would  be  disastrous 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  party  for  him  to  with- 
draw at  that  time.  He  defied  his  political 
opponents  and  appealed  to  the  people  of  Ireland 
to  sustain  him  in  the  stand  he  had  taken.  A 
canvass  made  that  same  day  among  the  members 
of  the  Irish  Parliamentary  Party  disclosed  the  fact 
that  fifty-three  of  its  members  were  opposed  to 
his  retention  of  the  party  leadership.  On  the 
same  day,  a  meeting  of  Scotch  Liberal  members 
of  Parliament  was  held,  at  which  a  resolution  was 


406  CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL. 

adopted,  declaring  that  "Mr.  Parnell  ought  to 
retire."  Two  days  afterwards  he  heard  from  the 
American  visitors,  John  Dillon,  William  O'Brien, 
T.  P.  O'Connor,  T.  P.  Sullivan  and  Thomas  P. 
Gill.  They  declared  against  his  continued  leader- 
ship and  condemned  his  manifesto  for  its  attitude 
towards  Mr.  Gladstone  and  the  English  people. 
On  the  previous  Saturday  he  had  called  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Irish  members  at  the  Westminster 
Palace  Hotel,  London,  and  only  twenty-four  of 
them  attended.  The  Catholic  Hierarchy,  without 
exception,  and  all  of  the  Irish  clergy  had  now 
declared  against  him.  On  November  30th  Mr. 
Gladstone  said :  "  Mr.  Parnell's  manifesto  has 
widened  the  gulf  made  by  recent  disclosures  and 
separated  him  from  the  Liberal  party,  who  have 
now  to  consider  the  great  and  noble  cause  of 
justice  for  Ireland  apart  from  any  individual 
name.  But  I  am  glad  to  think,  so  far  as  appears^ 
there  will  not  be  a  severance  between  us  and  the 
Nationalist  party,  for  Mr.  Parnell  throws  over 
his  colleagues.  He  acknowledges  in  them  no 
right  or  authority,  and  goes  past  a  constitutional 
representative  of  his  country  In  his  fanciful  appeal 
to  the  nation  which  had  chosen  him  to  speak  its 
wants  and  wishes," 

On  Saturday  morning,  December  6,  1890, 
Messrs.  Redmond,  Sexton,  Healy,  Leamy,  and 
the  two  Parliamentary  whips,  Power  and  Dersey, 
a  committee   appointed  at   the  previous    day's 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  407 

meeting  of  the  Irish  members  of  Parliament  to 
confer  with  Mr.  Gladstone,  drove  to  the  residence 
of  the  Liberal  leader.  Their  deliberations  lasted 
an  hour.  At  Mr.  Gladstone's  instance,  no  refer- 
ence was  made  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  ques- 
tion of  Mr.  Parnell's  leadership.  Mr.  Gladstone 
gave  no  definite  promise,  but  Messrs.  Healy  and 
Sexton  reported  that  he  said  sufficient,  in  their 
opinion,  to  justify  the  Irish  party  in  considering 
his  assurances  satisfactory.  These  were  that  he 
would  make  a  genuine  attempt  to  deal  with  the 
constabulary  and  Land  Questions  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  Irish  people.  The  strtfe  of  the 
opposing  clans  continued  to  increase,  and  Parnell 
announced  his  intention  of  "Re-organizing  the 
League."  Messrs.  O'Brien  and  Gill  sailed  for 
France  from  this  country,  and  whilst  they  were 
on  the  ocean,  Mr.  Parnell  and  a  party  of  his 
friends  seized  O'Brien's  newspaper,  the  Unitedire 
land,  A  conference  was  finally  arranged  at 
Boulogne  between  William  O'Brien  and  Mr. 
Parnell. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

THE    BOULOGNE   CONFERENCE. 

THE  details  of  that  conference  were,  at  the 
instance  of  Mr.  Parnell,  kept  secret,  and  that 
secrecy  was  the  cause  for  over  a  year  of  many 
disputes,  for  while  one  faction  gave  its  version  of 
what  they  believed  took  place  and  insisted  upon 
its  truth,  the  other  one  was  equally  emphatic  in 
denial  of  its  accuracy.  '  The  conference  was  held 
on  Thursday  afternoon,  December  -30,  1890,  and 
the  parties  present  were  the  Redmonds,  Kenny 
and  Clancy,  O'Brien,  Gill,  and  Parnell.  It  was 
not  until  the  loth  of  November,  1891,  that  the 
truth  of  what  took  place  at  that  conference  was 
published.  Gn  that  date,  Mr.  William  O'Brien 
published  a  long  letter  in  the  Freeman's  Jmrndl, 
denouncing  the'conduct  of  Messrs.  Redmond  and 
Harrington  in  trying  to  deceive  the  Irish  public 
by  pretending,  on  the  strength  of  their  hope  that 
he  had  lost  Mr.  Parnell's  letter,  that  it  disclosed 
some  dark  treachery  towards  Mr.  Parnell  or  their 
Liberal  allies.  Mr.  O'Brien  now  gives  the  letter 
to  sthe  world,  together  with  hisi  own  reply— the 
only  letter  he  WTOte  to  Mn  Parnell  during  the 

(408) 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  409 

Boulogne  negotiations  and  not  yet  published. 
Mr.  Parnell's  letter  to  Mr.  O'Brien  recounts  at 
length  what  had  already  been  done,  and,  as  new 
proposals,  suggests  that  Mr.  McCarthy  interview 
Mr.  Gladstone  and  get  a  written  memorandum, 
embodying  assurances  already  given,  anent  land 
and  police,  transferred  to  the  custody  of  O'Brien  ; 
that  if  the  memorandum  was  satisfactory  to  both 
Mr.  Parnell  and  Mr.  O'Brien,  the  former  would 
announce  his  retirement  from  the  chairmanship ; 
that  the  terms  of  the  memorandum  should  not 
be  disclosed  until  the  Home  Rule  Bill  was  intro- 
duced, and  not  tlien  unless  the  bill  was  unsatis- 
factory, but  that  after  the  passage  of  a  satisfactory 
bill  Mr.  Parnell  .should  be  permitted  to  publish 
the  memorandum.  Instead  of  a  two  years*  limit 
within  which  the  constabulary  should  be  disarmed 
arid  converted  into  a  civil  force,  Mr.  Parnell 
aofreed  that  the  time  mlo^ht  be  extended  to  five 
years,  but  he  said  it  was  of  vital  importance  that 
some  limit  should  be  fixed.  The  letter  in  cort- 
clusion  gives  Mr.  O'Brien  permission  to  show  it 
to  the  Redmond  brothers  and  Mr.  Gill. 

Mr.  O'Brien  says  that  on  receiving  this  letter 
he  telegraphed  it  to  Mr.  Harrington,  who  replied 
that  Mr.  Parnell's  proposals  were  subject  to  Mr. 
O'Brien's  accepting  the  chairmanship.  At  tlie 
same  time  Mr.  O'Brien  wrote  to  Mr.  Parnell  to 
the  effect  that  the  proposals  were  feasible,  pro- 
vided M£/  McGaithy  coritiriu^^  as  diairman; 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  411 

bther'wi^e,  as  the  Hawarden  plan  involved  the 
employment  of  Mr.  McCarthy  in  a  painful  trans- 
action, they  would  raise  a  formidable  difficulty. 
Mr.  O'Brien  concludes  with  an  expression  of  the 
belief  that  they  would  be  able  to  devise  some 
other  equally. satisfactory  plan.  In.  a  postscript, 
he  say's  he  consulted  Mr.  Redmond's  Bill,  and  all 
agreed  that,,  when  ]they  meet  next  May,  they  will 
be  able  to  arrange  a  modus  vivendi, 
r  Mr.  O'Brien  now  contends  that  the  foregoing 
disposes  of  the  ParnelUte  plea  that  Mr.  Parnell's 
retirement  was  to  be  a  sham,  and  that  he  was  to 
have  the  riorht  of  veto  in:  connection  with  the 
Home  Rule  Bill. 

Mn  O'Brien  declares  that  he  no  more  repre- 
sented the  Liberal  Party  in  the  Boulogne  negotia- 
tions than  he  did  the  Mikadp.  He  did  not  possess 
a  shadow  of  authority  .in  the  matter,  except  frpm 
bis  American  brother  delegates. 
<  Mr.  O'Brien  and  Mr.  Par n ell  held  two  con- 
ferences at  Boulogne  Sur  Mer,  in  the  Hotel  Du 
•Louvre,  on  January  6ch  and  7th,  189 1,  What  took 
place  at  those  and  the  previous  conferences  Mr. 
.O'Brien's. tetters  tell  pUir^ly  and  unequivocally, 
/  The  Irish  Parliamentary  Party's  differ-en 
were.,  as  far  as  ever  frpiri  a  ScLtisfactoryJ^blution, 
and  the  split  became  .of  Sifch  a  pronounced  char* 
^acter  that  Parneirs  friends  and  foes  A^ery^ioften 
■attacked  one  another  iiii  open,  meetings.  ;_Each 
^^rty  denounced  ^ the  other,  jb4?^^  ^^^ 


412  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.' 

up  Its  own  candidates  for  Parliament.  For  the 
purpose  of  sustaining  his  campaign,  at  this* 
juncture,  Mr.  Parnell  sent  as  envoys  to  this 
country  James  O'Kelly,  John  Redmond,  John 
O'Conner,  and  Henry  Harrison.  Their  stay  here 
was  brief,  but  they  were  successful  in  raising  a 
large  sum  of  money. 

On  Wednesday,  March  ii,  1891,  a  largely- 
attended  convention  was  held  in  Leinster  Hall, 
Dublin,  to  which  1 1 5  organizations  sent  delegates 
and  ninety  other  organizations  sent  letters  assur- 
ing the  convention  that  they  would  stand  by  it  in 
Its  decisions.  The  "  Irish  National  Federation  ** 
was  then  formally  organized  and  an  executive 
committeer  appointed,  consisting  of  McCarthy, 
Condon,  Davitt,  Deasy,  Dickson,  Murphy,  McCar- 
tan,  Arthur  O'Connor,  Sexton,  Sheehy,  Sullivan, 
Webb,  Dillon,  and  O'Brien.  The  first  branch  of 
that  organization  in  this  country  was  formed  in 
Philadelphia  at  a  meeting  held  in  Independence 
Hall.  Dr.  Joseph  Fox,  M.  P.  for  Kings  county, 
is  now  on  a  tour  of  the  United  States  as  the 
propagandist  of  the  new  departure.  He  reports 
that  it  is  eminently  successful,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  whatever  of  the  truth  of  his  statement. 

MR.    PARNELL    MARRIES    MRS.    o'SHEA. 

On  the  evening  of  March   13,  1891,  Mr.  Par- 
nell issued  an  address  to  the  Irish  in  America, 


■MHp 


MRS.  OSHEA  PARNELL. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  415 

calling  upon  them  for  assistance  and  eoneluding 
with  the  words :  "  with  a  confidence  even  greater 
than  in  1880,  I  appeal  to  you  once  more  to  assist 
me  in  quelling  this  mutiny  and  disloyalty  to  Ire- 
land ;  to  help  me  in  securing  a  really  independent 
Parliamentary  party,  so  that  we  may  make  one 
more,  even  though  it  be;  our  very  last  effort  to 
win  freedom  and  prosperity  for  pur  nation  by 
constitutional  means/* 

At  ten  o'clock  on  Friday  morning,  June  26, 
1 89 1,  Mr.  Parnell  and  Mrs.  O'Shea  were  married 
at  Steyning,  by  the  registrar,  who  was  enjoined 
in  the  most  strict  manner  not  to  give  any  infor^ 
mation  about  the  marriage.  He  promised  to 
preserve  the  closest  secrecy  in  regard  to  the 
matter.  The  only  witnesses  to  the  ceremony 
"were  two  servants  from  Mrs.  O'Shea's  house  at 
Walsingham  Terrace,  Brighton.  Mr.  Pamell 
had  procured  a  special  license  on  the  preceding 
Tuesday,  setting  forth  that  the  marriage  would 
occur  within  two  months.  The  Associated  Press 
cablegram  relating  the  circumstances  attending 
the  ceremony  says  that  "  an  order  was  given  to 
have  a  solitary  one-horse  phaeton  in  readiness 
at  six  o'clock  this  morning,  instead  of  the  usual 
order  for  horses  or  a  carriage  for  exercise,  as 
was  customary  when  Mr.  Parnell  was  stopping  at 
Brighton.  When  the  conveyance  was  ready,  Mr. 
Parnell  and  Mrs.  O'Shea  entered  the  phaeton  and 
orders  were  oriven  to  the  coachman  to  drive  to 


^1%  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

the  westward.  After  the  party  had  left  Brighton 
behind  them,  the  driver  was  directed  tQ  proceed 
to  Steyning,  by  a  circuitous  route.  Steyning  was 
reached  at  nine  o'clock,  at  which  time  a  heavy 
rain  was  falling.  Upon  entering  the  town,  Mrs. 
O'Shea,  who  was  familiar  with  the  place  and 
knew  the  situation  of  the  registrar's  office,  re*? 
lieved  the  coachman  of  the  ribbons  and  drove 
direct  to  the  office  herself." 

For  months  subsequent  to  this  event  a  hot  and 
bitter  contest  was  waged  all  over  Ireland  for  polit- 
ical supremacy.  Day  by  day  the  Parnellites  lost 
ground  but  they  manfully  fought  their  opponents 
to  the  last  ditch,  and  now,  although  but  a  hand- 
ful of  them  is  left,  they  seem  as  determined  and  as 
vigorous  as  when  they  first  began  the  fight  under 
Mr.  Parneirs  leadership. 

One  of  the  prime  causes  of  dispute  amongst  the 
contendinof  clans  is  the  distribution  of  what  is 
known  as  -"  the  Paris  Fund."  This  ''  Paris  Fund  '■ 
was  made  up  entirely  of  moneys  contributed  in 
the  United  States  and  the  Canadas,  as  well  as  in 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  and  the  Australian 
colonies,  for  the  relief  of  evicted  tenants.  It 
has  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  Munroe  &  Co., 
a  celebrated  banking  firm  of  Paris,  France.  The 
London  newspapers,  always  on  the  alert  to 
foment  discord  among  the  banks  of  the  Irish 
party,  have  published  statements  to  the  effect 
that  Mrs.  Kate  Parnell,  and  Joha  Howard  Par- 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  41T 

ndl,  ks  the  heirs  of  Charles  Stewart  Parnell,  could 
claim  the  distribution  of  half  the  deposit  belonging 
to  the  "  Paris  Fund.'*     These  statements  so  exas- 
perated Healy  and  other  members  of  the  majority 
faction  that  they  have  been  saying  very  bitter  and 
cruel  things  about  Mrs.  Kate  Parnell.     Healy  has 
been    especially   severe,  so   much   so  that    Mr. 
MacDermott,  a  nephew  of  Mr.  Parnell,  gave  him 
a  sound  thrashing  for  his  misconduct.     Healy  was 
not  daunted  by  the  beating  he   received,  for  he 
reiterated  his   uncomplimentary   remarks   about 
Mrs.  Parnell  at  a  public  meeting  held  twenty-four 
hours  afterwards.      The  "  Paris  Fund   '^  having 
been  placed  in  bank  subject  to  the  joint  order  of 
Justin   McCarthy  and   Charles  Stewart   Parnell, 
Mr.    Parnell's  death  has    complicated  the   situa- 
tion.    Mr.  John  Munroe,  who  is  the  head  of  the 
banking  firm,   in  speaking  to   a  friend    of  mine 
who  was  in  Paris  on  October  13,  1891,  said:  "I 
shall  not  part  with  the  fund  or  any  part  of  it  until 
I  am  satisfied  by  my  solicitors  that  I  will  carry  no 
responsibility.     I   shall  wait  until  a  judicial  de- 
cision is  arrived  at,  which  will  remove  all  responsi- 
bility from  my  shoulders.     Personally^  I  have  no 
interest  in  the  matter  and  I  am  not  called  upon 
to  decide   with  either   party.     I   am    simply  its 
temporary   custodian  ;    a   custodian   who   would 
be   very   glad   to   get   rid  of  his  charge.*'     Mr. 
Munroe  declined  to  state  the  exact  amount  of  the 
fund,  but  intimated  that  it  consisted  mainly  of 


418  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

American  securities,  the  interest  accruing  on. 
which  has  been  duly  drawn  by  the  two  depositors, 
and  that  the  real  value  of  the  fund  had  varied 
from  time  to  time,  but  that  at  present  it  was 
about  ;^40,ooo. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE    LAST  SAD   SCENE. 

AND  now  I  bring  this  work  to  a  close  with  the 
story  of  the  funeral  of  "The  Uncrowned 
King.'*  On  Sunday,  October  ii,  1891,  Charles 
Stewart  Parnell  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  famed  Glas- 
nevin  Cemetery.  The  Dublin  Freeman,  in  describ- 
ing it,  says  that  "  the  monster  funeral  procession, 
which  was  the  most  impressive  feature  of  the  ob- 
sequies, was  worthy  of  the  great  Irish  Chief  and 
the  people  for  whom  he  labored  and  suffered  and 
djed.  As  an  expression  of  national  sorrow  it 
stands  unequalled.  No  greater  upheaval  of  emo- 
tion has  ever  been  witnessed  in  Ireland.  It  was 
the  most  imposing  public  cortege  that  has  passed 
for  half  a  century  through  the  metropolis,  which 
has  during  that  time  seen  many  a  remarkable, 
political  funeral  procession — the  Thomas  Davis, 
the  O'Connell,  the  Terence  Bellew  McManus,  the 
Manchester  Martyrs,  the.  John  O'Mahony,  the 
Color  Sergeant  McCarthy  and  the  Kickhani 
funerals,  for  instance,  to  mention  only  a  few. 
The  Parnell  Funeral  has  admittedly  transcended  all 
these  demonstrations  in  significance,  in  grandeur 

(419.) 


420  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNEtL. 

and  in  solemnity.  And  there  were,  indeed,  many 
reasons  why  it  should  be  what  it  was — an  intense, 
a  touching  and  a  pathetic  demonstration  of  gen- 
eral sorrow.  The  unexpected  news  of  Mr.  Par- 
nell's  death  fell  on  Ireland  like  a  stunning  blow, 
producing  stupor,  amazement  and  consternation. 
This  sudden,  untimely,  tragic  ending  of  a  great 
and  noble  life  awakened  the  profoundest  grief 
among  all  parties,  classes  and  creeds  of  Irishmen. 
The  reviling  tones  of  hatred,  calumny  and  abuse 
—and  even  the  voice  of  just  and  fair  criticism- 
were,  with  just  two  insignificant  exceptions  in  the 
Irish  press,  hushed,  and,  let  us  hope,  hushed  for- 
ever so  far  as  Parnell  is  concerned,  in  the  eternal 
silence  of  the  grave.  He  was  remembered  only 
as  the  Parnell  of  old — ^^as  one  of  the  greatest 
patriots  we  have  ever  known — as  the  leader, 
and  not  alone  the  leader,  but  the  very  idol  of  the 
Irish  race.  The  memory  of  his  former  greatness, 
and  of  all  he  suffered  and  endured  for  Ireland, 
only  remained.  His  fallen  fortunes—^his  eclipse 
during  the  past  few  sad  and  terrible  months,  were 
remembered  but  to  add  an  additional  touch  of 
poignancy  to  the  overwhrfming  grief  and  be- 
reavement of  the  nation.  Edmu nd  Bu rke  com- 
plained orice  of  the  hunt  of  obi dquy  which  pur- 
sued him  through  life.  So  it  was,  too,  alas  I  with 
Charles  SteA\^rt  Parnell.  From  the  very  opening 
to  the  very  close  of  his  public  career  he  had  to 
endure  envy,  calumny,  hate  and  pain.  But  it  is 
all  over  now. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  421 

" '  Mow  peaceful  and  how  powerful  is  the  grave 
that  hushes  all ! '  as  the  poet  sings.  Nothing 
was  heard  on  Sunday  from  that  mighty  mass  of 
people  which  followed  the  dead  chief  to  his  last 
resting  place  but  expressions  of  uncontrollable 
grief— the  subdued  sobbing  and  weeping  of 
strong  men  and  the  loud  wailing  of  women.  The 
fascination  of  that  impenetrable,  inscrutable  and 
mysterious  personality  ended  not  with  his  death. 
During  life  Parneirwas,  eminently,  a  man  to  en- 
kindle enthusiasni  and  command'  devotion.  The 
same  potent  influences,  rise  even  from  his  ashes, 
as  the  demonstration  on  Sunday  proves.  It  was 
as  pathetic  a  picture  of  mingled  affection,  devoted 
Joyalty  and  desolate  bereavement  as  the  streets 
of  Dublin  have  ever  witnessed.  It  was,  indeed, 
a  memorable  fu  neral  procession.  Who  that  saw 
it  will  ever  forget  it  ?  '  I  was  at  Parnell's  funeral,' 
shall  be  a  proud  yet  melancholy  boast  in  days  to 
come.  It  was  a  singuljar,  strange  and  impressive 
event,  the  funeral  of  Mr.fParnell— from  its  open- 
ing in  Brighton  at  nopn  on  Saturday  to  its  close 
on  Sunday  evening  at  six  o'clock.  Dublin  was 
astir  before  morning  dawned  on  Sunday.  The 
silence  of  the  streets  was  broken  by  the  tramp 
of  men  at  a  very  early  hour.  Crowds  converged 
on  Westland  row  from  all  points  of  the  city  and 
suburbs,  though  a  cutting  wind  and  a  drizzling 
rain  prevailed.  The  train  conveying  the  body 
from  Kingstown  was  more  than  an  hour  late, 


422  CHARLES.  STEWART  PARNELL. 

owing  to  a  delay  in  starting  the  mail  boat  at 
Holyhead  and  an  exceedingly  rough  passage; 
but  the  people  waited  patiendy,  notwithstanding 
the  discomfort  of  the  morning,  in  Westland  row 
and  Gf^at  Brunswick  street.  At  last,  at  eight 
o*clbck,  the  sad  strains  of  "The  Dead  March," 
played  by  a  brass  band,  announced  the  arrival  of 
the  co7'tege,  and  as  the  hearse,  with  a  body  guard 
of  Gaels  with  camans  draped,  and  followed  by 
Mr.  Pafnell's  Parliamentarjr  colleagues,  passed 
between  the  thick  files  of  people,  every  hat  was 
raised,  and  cries  and  soIds  of  ancruish  rent  the 
air.  On  the  melancholy  procession  marched  in  a 
drenching  downpour  of  rain  to  St.  Michan's 
Church,  Church  street.  In  the  vaults  of  this 
sacred  edifice  the  Brothers  Sheares,  who  were 
executed  in  '98,  are  interred,  and  in  the  grave- 
yard attached  are  buried  Charles  Lucas,  the 
founder  of  the  Freeman's  journal,  and  one  of  the 
first  of  the  Irish  constitutional  patriots,  and  Oliver 
Bond,  who  sought  in  '98  by  other  methods  to 
restore  the  freedom  of  Ireland.  It  is  said  the 
uninscribed  tomb  of  Emmet  is  there  also.  Here, 
thien,  in  this  sacred  edifice,  rich  with  Irish  National 
associations,  the  prayers  for  the  dead,  according 
to  the  ritual  of  the  Protestant  Church,  were  re- 
cited by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fry,  Rector  of  All  Saints, 
Manchester.  Is  there  any  church  in  Dublin  in 
which    this    sacred    function  could   have    been 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  423 

friore  appropriately  discharged  for  the  dead  Irish 
Tribune? 

The  lying  in  state  of  the  body  of  Mr.  Parnell 
in  the  large  circular  room  of  the  City  Hall,  to 
which  it  was  conveyed  after  the  services  in  St. 
Michan's  Church,  was  another  very  impressive 
ceremonial.  The  coffin  was  placed  on  a  low  bier 
just  below  the  massive  statue  of  O'Connell  by 
Hogan,  the  base  of  which  was  draped  with  the 
well-worn  and  tattered  colors  of  the  two  regi- 
ments of  Volunteers  raised  by  Sir  John  Parnell, 
the  incorruptible  Chancellor  of  the  Irish  Ex- 
chequer, in  VVicklow,  and  brought  up  from  Avon- 
dale  for  the  melancholy  occasion.  The  coffin  was 
entirely  covered  with  the  wreaths,  artistically  ar- 
ranged by  loving  hands,  and  at  its  feet  was  raised 
the  floral  offering  of  Mr.  Parnell's  colleagues,  a 
Celtic  cross  five  feet  high.  To  the  right  of  the 
coffin  was  the  statue  of  Charles  Lucas,  to  its  left 
the  statue  of  Henry  Grattan  and  the  bust  of 
Denis  Florence  McCarthy,  and  inscribed  on  a 
white  ground,  hanging  in  graceful  Venetian  folds 
from  the  heavily  draped  pillars  of  the  hall,  were 
the  last  words  of  Mr.  Parnell— 

"Give  my  love  to  my  colleagues  and  to  the 
Irish  people." 

The  hall,  which  was  open  to  the  public  from 
ten  till  one  o^clock,  was  visited  by  30,000  persons. 
Meanwhile,  from  a  far  earlier  hour  than  ten 
o'clock,  preparations  for  the  funeral  procession 


424  CHARLES  STEWART  I»ARNELL. 

were  afoot.  Special  trains  crowded  with  deputa- 
tions, accompanied  by  bands,  arrived  from  North, 
South,  East,  and  West,  at  the  various  termini  of 
the  metropoHs,  and  poured  their  thousands  oh 
the  streets.  The  weather  continued  inclement, 
yet  even  during  the  early  forenoon  the  city  was 
thronged  with  people  who  moved  about  the 
streets  unheeding  the  bitter  wind  and  the  rain, 
and  the  mud  and  slush  below.  The  shadow  of  a 
deep  desolation  seemed  to  hang  over  all.  The 
walls  of  the  city  were  extensively  placarded  with 
huge  posters,  in  heavy  mourning  borders,  the 
letterpress  of  which  was  headed  with  the  lines — 

FUNERAL 

OF  THE 

IRISH   CHIEF, 

in  large  black  letters,  followed  by  particulars  as 
to  the  order  of  the  procession.  Another  poster 
also  heavily  bordered  in  black,  which  attracted 
considerable  notice,  was  the  following: 

HIS   LAST   WORDS. 

"My  love  to  my  colleagues  and  to  the  Irish 
people." 

"  If  I  were  dead  and  gone  to-morrow,  the  men 
who  are  fighting  against  English  influence  in 
Irish  public  life  would  fight  on  still ;  they  would 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  425 

Still  be  independent  Nationalists;  they  would  still 
believe  in  the  future  of  Ireland  a  nation  ;  and  they 
would  still  protest  that  it  was  not  by  taking  orders 
from  an  English  Minister  that  Ireland's  future 
could  be  saved,  protected  or  secured. 
^'Charles  Stewart  Parnell. 

"At  Listowel,  September  13,  1 891:" 

While  the  deputations  were  assembling  in  pro- 
cessional order  in  St.  Stephen's  green,  and  in  the 
neighboring  streets,  every  possible  position  that 
could  afford  a  view  of  the  procession  along'  the 
line  of  route  was  occupied.  The  windows  were 
crowded,  the  footways  were  thronged.  The 
streets  through  which  the  procession  was  to  pass 
from  the  City  Hall  to  Glasnevin  were  literally 
swarming  with  men,  women, and  children — curious, 
interested,  and  sympathetic — every  one,  almost, 
wearing  th^  emblem  of  the  mourners,  a  piece  of 
crape  set  off  with  green  ribbon,  and  eagerly 
awaiting  the  appearance  of  the  cortege^  Street 
vendors  did  a  roaring  trade  in  portraits  of :  the 
Dead  Patriot,  and  in  ballads  singing  his  virtues. 

From  many  windows  hung  green  flags  trimmed 
with  mourning;  from  .others  floral  wreaths  were 
suspended ;  and  in  the  poorer  portions  of  the  city 
through  which  the  procession  passed,  in  Thomas 
street,  James'  street,  and  along  the  Northern  line 
of  quays — pictures  of  Mr.  Parnell  were  liberally 
displayed.   ,  The  deptli,  reality^  and  iateqisity^  of 

27 


426  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

the  sorrow  felt  by  the  people — spectators  as  well 
as  processionists — for  the  death  of  their  Chief 
was  unmistakable.  As  the  monster  procession, 
starting  from  the  City  Hall  at  a  quarter  past  two, 
wended  its  slow,  sad,  and  solemn  way,  to  the 
mournful  cadences  of  forty  bands,  through  serried 
files  of  people — up  Lord  Edward  street,  past 
Christ  Church  Cathedral,  along  Thomas  street, 
James'  street,  down  Steevens  lane,  crossing  the 
Liffey  at  Kingsbridge,  proceeding  along  the, 
northern  line  of  quays,  re-crossing  the  river  over 
Grattan  bridge,  advancing  up  Parliament  street, 
passing  the  City  Hall  again,  proceeding  down 
Dame  street,  past  '*  the  Old  House  in  College 
green,''  through  Westmoreland  street,  over  O'Con- 
nell  bridge,  up  O'Connell  street,  through  Rutland 
square,  along  Blessington  street,  over  Berkeley 
road,  through  Phibsborough,  and  thence  to  Glas- 
nevin  Cemetery — the  keening  and  clapping  of 
hands  of  the  women  were  frequendy  heard:  heart- 
rending sobs  burst  from  many  a  man,  and  tears 
were  seen  on  the  cheeks  of  not  a  few.  As  the 
hearse  approached  every  hat  in  the  thron^g  on  each 
side  was  doffed,  and  prayers  for  the  dead  were 
muttered.  It  was,  indeed,  a  spectacle  to  touch  the 
most  callous  heart  to  see  the  hearse — a  splendid 
vehicle  drawn  by  four  sable  horses,  with  outriders 
in  mourning  costumes — the  coffin  on  top,  com- 
pletely hidden  by  floral  wreaths,  and  the  crushed 
and  bruised  and  sorrow-stricken  collea^jues  of  the 


CHARLES   STEWART   PARNELL.  427 

heroic,  the  militant,  the  kingly  Irishman  who  lay 
dead  inside,  surrounding  it  as  pall-bearers.  The 
demeanor  of  the  people  throughout  the  trying  day 
was  magnificent  for  its  solemnity,  dignity,  good 
order,  and  sobriety.  It  was  apprehended,  it  is 
true,  that  evil  and  angry  passion  would  be 
aroused,  and  that  the  laying  to  rest  of  the  Great 
Irish  Leader  who  is  gone  from  us  for  ever  would 
be  marred  by  riot  and  bloodshed.  Thank 
Heaven,  there  was  nothing  of  the  kind.  Thank 
Heaven  that  not  the  slightest  violation  of  the 
law — that  not  the  least  infraction  of  the]  public 
peace  marred  this  solemn  and  mournful  occasion  ; 
and  the  only  way  the  services  of  the  police  were 
brought  into  requisition  was  in  the  aiding  of  the 
marshals  and  stewards  to  clear  the  way  and  pre- 
serve unbroken  the  march  of  the  procession. 
From  the  opening  of  the  sad  proceedings  to  their 
close  no  hitch  occurred;  no  disturbance  took 
place,  no  accident  happened,  and  neither  jarring 
note  nor  a  word  of  anger  nor  imprecation  was 
heard.  It  was  half-past  five  before  Glasnevin 
Cemetery  was  reached,  and  then,  at  six  o'clock, 
just  as  the  shades  of  night  were  falling,  with  the 
gathering  gloom  lighted  up  by  a  half  moon  in  a 
cloudless  sky,  after  prayers  had  been  recited,  the 
dull  thud  of  the  earth  clods  on  the  cofidn  of 
Charles  Stewart  Parnell  was  heard  amid  mur- 
murs of  sorrow  from  the  multitude  thronorlnor 
round.    The  tragedy  of  that  terrible  moment  to 


428  eHARLES   STEWART  PARNELL. 

the  devoted  colleagues  of  the  Dead  Chie*  may 
be  imagined  but  it  cannot  be  described.'* 

«*  Dead,  our  mighty  Leader  lies, 
"Weep  not  for  him  with  useless  cries. 
Mourn  for  him  as  true  men  ought." 


[Lz^iiJ^^oi^Li  ©i!\i  Lr-olfX. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


WILLIAM    EWART   GLADSTONE. 

The  history  of  William  Ewart  Gladstone  is  the 
history  of  England  for  fifty  years.     Beginning  as 
''  the  rising  hope  of  the  stern,  unbending  Tories," 
he  has  come  to  be  the  standard-bearer  of  ad- 
vanced   Liberalism,   almost   Radicalism.     In  this 
process  of  evolution  he  has  figured  conspicuously 
in  every  important  movement  in  English  national 
life.     Mistakes  he  has  made.     False  steps  he  has 
taken  ;  some  of  them  terribly  wrong.     But  he  has 
had  the  English  people  largely  with  him  through 
them  all;  and  no  other  man  has  been  so  con- 
stantly and  so   perfectly  an  individual  exponent 
of  the  aims,   the   feelings  and  the  very^  soul  oi 
England  as  he.     His  history,  indeed,  is  in  great 
measure  the  history  of  the  whole  world  for  an 
important  half  century,  for   in   that  time  Great 
Britain  has  been   involved  in  relations,  hostile  or 
friendly,  with  all  other  nations,  and  upcrn  those 
relations  the  impress  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  charac- 
ter is  invariably  to  be  found.     In  the  compass  of 
a  few  pages  it  is  impossible  to  present  more  than 
a  meagre  outline  of  his  life-work,  or  more  than  a 
slight  hint  of  the  principles -that  have  guided  this 
illuatrious     statesman,     theologian,    orator,   and 

43^ 


432  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELU 

author  through  a  career  which  has  scarcely  a  rival 
in  modern  history, 

"Who  is  this  Mr.  Qladstone?''  inquired  an 
elector  of  Newark,  England,  one  day  in  Decem- 
ber, 1832,  when  he  was  asked  to  vote  for  him  to 
represent  that  borough  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. **Who  is  this  Mr.  Gladstone?'*  Not 
many  of  the  Newark  electors  could  have  answered 
the  question.  It  was  addressed,  however,  to  the 
steward  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  and  he  made 
reply:  "Mr.  Gladstone  is  a  young  man,  the  son 
of  a  millionaire  merchant  of  Liverpool,  who  was  a 
friend  of  Canning;  and  he  is  the  protege  of  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle.'*  That  meagre  biography 
was  sufficient  for  electoral  purposes,  and  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  elected.  "Vote  for  Gladstone,'* 
the  Duke  practically  said  to  his  tenants,  "or  I 
will  turn  you  out  of  doors."  Under  this  miser- 
able rotten  borough  system  was  sent  to  Parlia- 
ment the  man  who  was  destined  in  future  years 
to  sweep  that  system  away  forever.  He  was  then 
twenty-three  years  old,  having  been  born  at  Liv- 
erpool, December  29,  1809,  the  son  of  Sir  John 
Gladstone.  The  family  is  of  purely  Scottish 
origin,  and  in  early  generations  was  connected 
with  royalty  itself.  With  almost  boundless  wealth 
behind  him,  the  future  Prime  Minister  enjoyed 
the  best  educational  advantages  England  afforded. 
He  spent  six  years  at  Eton ;  then  studied  pri- 
vately under  Dr.  Turner,    afterward  Bishop   of 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  433 

Calcutta  ;  and  finally  spent  three  years  at  Christ 
Church  College,  Oxford,  being-  graduated  in  183 1, 
with  the  highest  honors  of  the  class.  He  then 
went  to  Italy  on  a  pleasure  tour,  and  for  the  good 
of  his  health,  which  was  then  delicate.  While  he 
was  there  the  Reform  Act  of  1832  was  passed, 
and  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  summoned  him  home 
to  stand  for  Newark  In  the  ensuing  election.  His 
authentic  ancestry  may  be  traced  briefly  from 
William  Gladstone,  a  brewer,  of  Biggar,  who  died 
in  1728.  He  left  three  sons  and  a  daughter. 
One  of  these  sons  left  eleven  children,  one  of 
whom  was  named  Thomas,  Thomas  Gladstone 
had  sixteen  children,  the  eldest  of  whom  was 
John,  afterward  Sir  John  Gladstone,  the  father  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  John  Gladstone  built 
up  his  great  fortune  chiefly  through  the  slave 
trade  and  the  products  of  slave  labor  in  America. 
He  accepted  the  abolition  of  slavery  with  good 
grace,  however,  and  thereafter  continued  greatly 
to  increase  his  wealth.  The  friendship  of  Can-' 
ning  and  the  patronage  of  the  Duke  of  Marl- 
borough got  him  Into  Parliament  as  Member  for 
Woodstock,  a  pocket-borough  of  Marlborough's, 
and  he  was  still  a  member  of  the  House  when  his 
son,  William  Ewart,  was  elected  as  his  colleague 
from  Newark. 

The  first  importai^t  act  of  the  Parliament  to 
which  Mr.  Gladstone  was  first  elected  was  the 
abolition  of  slavery.     This  was  effected  in  1833. 


434  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

In  the  debates  on  this  topic  Mr.  Gladstone  made 
his  first  parliamentary  speech.  He  was  not  op- 
posed to  emancipation,  but  he  demanded  that  it 
be  done  gradually,  and  that  slave-owners  be  in- 
demnified for  their  losses.  To  any  such  thing  as 
immediate  and  absolute  abolition  of  slavery  he 
was  strongly  opposed.  In  other  debates  that  year 
he  displayed  his  prowess,  and  he  was  made  by 
Peel,  in  1834,  a  Junior  Lord  of  the  Treasury.  It 
rs,  by  the  way,  an  odd  circumstance  that  while 
Mr.  Gladstone  throughout  his  public  career  has 
especially  excelled  as  a  financier,  he  was  when  in 
school  the  dullest  of  dullards  in  arithmetic.  A  few 
months  later  the  Tories  were  turned  out  of  office, 
and  Mr.  Gladstone  retired  for  some  years  to  the 
Opposition  benches.  Peel  returned  to  power, 
however,  in  1841,  and  made  Mr.  Gladstone  Vice- 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trade  and  Master  of 
the  Mint.  That  Ministry  was  one  of  the  most 
notable  in  modern  English  history,  and  in  its  im- 
portant work  Mr.  Gladstone  took  a  leading  part. 
It  was  he  who  prepared  the  revised  Tariff  sched- 
ule, which  largely  abolished  duties  on  imports 
and  inaugurated  the  era  of  British  free-trade.  He 
soon  succeeded  Lord  Ripon  as  President  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  and  in  that  capacity  secured  the 
abolition  of  restrictions  on  the  exportation  of 
machinery.  The  next  year,  1844,  he  carried  his 
railway  laws,  which  compelled  railways  to  run 
cheap  trains,  established  a  system  of  electric  tele- 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  435 

graphs,  and  provided  for  the  purchase  of  railways 
by  the  Government — a  provision  which  has  never 
been  executed. 

'  The  achievement  of  these  important  measures 
within  three  years  marked  Mr.  Gladstone  as  the 
coming  leader  of  British  politics.  They  showed, 
too,  that  Tory  as  he  was,  he  possessed  a  spirit  of 
independence  above  party  trammels,  and  was  in- 
spired with  ideas  of  advancement  and  reform  that 
must  in  time  make  him  a  Liberal.  The  Liberal 
party  of  later  years  was  not  then  in  existence, 
and  as  between  the  Tories  and  the  Whigs  there 
was  litde  for  a  reformer  to  choose.  Meantime 
Mr.  Gladstone  had  paid  much  attention  to  ecclesi- 
astical as- well  as  fiscal  politics,  andhad  published 
two  works,  **The  State  in  its  Relations  with  the 
Church"  and  **  Church  Principles  Considered  in 
their  Results."  The  ideas  expressed  by  him  in 
these  were  not  in  harmony  with  the  bill  for  the 
endowment  of  Maynooth  College,  introduced  by 
the  government  in  1845,  ^^d  he  accordingly  re- 
signed his  office.  He  held  the  view,  since  aban- 
doned, that  it  was  the  business  of  the  government 
to  uphold  *'the  true  religion,"  by  which  he  meant 
the  Church  of  England.  Maynooth  was  a  Roman 
Catholic  college,  and  toward  Romanists  and  Dis- 
senters alike  Mr.  Gladstone  would  show  no  favor. 
In  1845  he  favored  customs  discrimination  against 
slave-grown  sugar.  Then  the  Corn  Law  question 
eame  up^    His  free-trade  notions  made^  him  favor 


436  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

their  repeal.  But  his  patron,  the  Duke  of  New- 
castle, to  whom  he  owed  his  Newark  seat,  opposed 
repeal.  So  he  resigned  his  place  in  the  Commons 
and  went  back  to  private  life,  powerfully  aiding, 
however,  by  voice  and  pen,  the  campaign  for  the 
repeal  of  the  obnoxious  laws.  When  that  cam- 
paign was  finally  triumphant  he  was  re-elected  to 
Parliament  as  member  for  Oxford  University. 
He  still  ranked  as  a  Tory,  but  day  by  day  showed 
that  he  was  drifting  hopelessly  away  from  that 
party.  He  favored  the  removal  of  the  political 
disabilities  of  the  Jews,  thus  directly  opposing  the 
Tory  policy.  He  also  spoke  and  worked  strongly 
for  the  repeal  of  the  navigation  laws  and  for  a 
reformed  system  of  colonial  administration.  In 
1850  he  made  a  speech  on  the  Greek  question, 
which  fixed  his  reputation  as  one  of  the  three  or 
four  greatest  parliamentary  orators  of  Europe. 

Sir  Robert  Peel  had  begun  as  a  protectionist 
and  a  Tory,  and  had  now  become  a  free-trader 
and  pjractically  a  Whig.  Mr.  Gladstone  had  ac- 
companied him  through  this  transformation,  and 
was  now  a  conspicuous  member  of  that  small  but 
able  body  of  men  known  as  Peelites.  That  body 
was  broken  up  by  the  death  of  Peel  in  July,  1850, 
and  thenceforth  Mr.  Gladstone's  progress  towards 
Liberalism  was  more  marked  and  rapid  than  ever. 
In  1 85 1  he  visited  Italy  again,  and  observed  the 
tyranny  of  the  King  of  Naples.  What  he  saw 
stirred  him  to  the  core,  and  he  wrote  a  number  of 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  437 

letters  to  Lord  Aberdeen,  passionately  appealing 
to  the  common  humanity  of  the  world  against 
such  brutalities.  "I  have  seen  and  heard,"  he 
said,  "  the  strong  and  true  expression  used : 
*  This  is  the  negation  of  God  erected  into  a  sys- 
tem of  government.'  '*  These  letters  greatly 
aroused  public  sentiment  against  the  tyrant,  and 
hastened  the  revolution  led  by  Garibaldi.  The 
next  year  (1852)  he  first  faced  squarely  his  great 
rival,  Disraeli,  who  was  a  member  of  the  govern- 
ment under  Lord  Derby.  Mr.  Disraeli  brought 
forward  a  Budget,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  attacked  it 
so  vehemently  and  convincingly  that  it  was  reject- 
ed by  the  House,  and  the  Ministry  thereupon 
resigned. 

In  the  Coalition  Ministry  which  was  then  formed 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  of  course  made  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer.  He  signalized  his  accession  to  this 
important  office  by  bringing  forward  another  great 
scheme  of  financial  reform.  This  was  nothing  less 
than  a  plan  for  reducing  the  national  debt.  ,  It  was 
adopted,  and  worked  admirably  until  the  Crimean 
war  broke  out.  He  was  still  earnestly  moving 
for  free  trade,  which  had  not  yet  been  established 
to  his  satisfaction,  and  his  first  Budget  made 
sweeping  reductions  and  abolitions  of  duties,- 
amounting  to  more  than  $25,000,000.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone has  generally  been  regarded  as  particeps 
criminis  in  the  terrible  iniquities  of  the  Crimean 
war,  and  so  strong  was  public  opinion  to  that 


438  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

effect  that  he  was  constrained  to  publish  an  apolo- 
gy  for  his  conduct  in  that  crisis.  He  accepted 
office  under  Lord  Palmerston  after'the  fall  of  the 
Aberdeen  Ministry,  but  soon  resigned  because 
Lord  Palmerston  would  not  oppose  Mr.  Roebuck'^ 
motion  for  an  investigation  into  the  mismanagement 
of  the  war.  This  was  one  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
great  blunders,  the  first  of  the  series.  Although 
a  professed  opponent  of  war,  he  helped  lead  the 
nation  into  the  Crimean  conflict,  and  identified 
himself  with  the  shameful  mismanagement  that 
marred  the  honorable  fame  of  England.  Then 
he  resigned  his  office  because  his  chief  would  not 
shield  him  from  an  investigation. 

Mr.  Gladstone  arrayed  himself  against  Lord 
Palmerston  in  1857  on  the  Chinese  question,  and 
led  against  him  a  motley  band  of  Tories,  Radicals 
^and  Peelites,  who  had  nothing  in  common  but 
their  hatred  of  the  Prime  Minister.  Lord  Pal- 
merston was  defeated;  but  he  appealed  to  the 
country  and  was  returned  to  office  stronger  than 
even  The  next  year,  however,  he  was  beaten  on 
another  measure  and  resigned  office.  Lord  Derby 
succeeded  him,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  was  again  a 
supporter  of  the  government,  though  not  a  mem- 
ber of  it.  The  great  India  bill,  transferring  the 
government  of  India  from  the  old  company  to  the 
Crown,  was  now  adopted,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  into  it  a  clause  forbidding  the 
use   of   Hindoo  soldiers   outside   of   their  own 


GLADSTONE  PRESENTING  THE  HOME  RULE  BILL,  1886. 


440  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

country,  except  by  special  permission  of  Parlia- 
ment. In  November,  1858,  Mr.  Gladstone  was 
sent  to  Corfu  by  Lord  Derby  as  High  Commis- 
sioner Extraordinary  to  the  Ionian  Islands,  and  a 
few  years  later  those  islands  were  formally  united 
to  Greece.  At  about  this  time,  too,  Mr.  Gladstone 
published  his  great  work  entitled  "Studies  on 
Homer."  In  this  he  argued  vigorously  that 
Homer  was  an  actual  personage,  that  he  was  the 
author  of  the  works  ascribed  to  him  in  their  en- 
tirety, and  that  the  events  related  in  the  poems 
were  real  and  not  fabulous.  .  He  has  been  all  his 
life  a  careful  student  and  constant  reader  of  the 
great  Greek  epics. 

Mr.  Gladstone  again  entered  Lord  Palmerston's 
Cabinet  in  1859,  as  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer, 
and  was  enabled  to  carry  out  still  further  his  free- 
trade  principles.  He  assisted  Mr.  Cobden  in 
negotiating  an  important  commercial  treaty  with 
France,  and  still  further  reduced  and  abolished 
duties  on  imports.  He  proposed  to  do  away  with 
the  paper  duty,  but  the  House  of  Lords  refused 
to  sanction  dhis  part  of  his  scheme.  Thereupon 
he  introduced  and  secured  the  passage  of  a  reso- 
lution in  the  House  of  Commons,  declaring  that 
the  right  of  granting  supplies  to  the  Crown  is 
vested  in  the  House  of  Commons  alone.  This 
was  the  first  of  his  battles  with  the  House  of 
Lords,  which  have  grown  steadily  more  bitter  and 
have  now  come  to  a  determination  on  his  part,  if 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  441 

possible,  either  to  remodel  and  reconstruct  that 
Chamber  or  do  away  with  it  altogether.  In  1861 
he  founded  the  Post  Office  Savings  Bank  system, 
which  has  been  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  people 
of  England.  In  the  Budget  of  this  year  the  paper 
duties  were  abolished,  despite  the  opposition  of 
the  Lords,  Mr.  Gladstone  embodying  this  and  all 
other  financial  ^propositions  in  one  bill,  and  pre- 
senting only  the  alternative  of  passing  the  whole 
or  none.  If  the  Lords  would  not  agree  to  abol- 
ishing the  paper  duties,  the  Commons  would  vote 
no  supplies  for  carrying  on  the  government.  For 
a  time  a  serious  constitutional  conflict  seemed  im- 
minent, but  at  last  the  Lords  yielded  to  Mr. 
Gladstone's  compulsion.  During  the  three  or 
four  years  that  followed,  Mr.  Gladstone  steadily 
removed  duties  and  lightened  taxation. 

Soon  after  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion  in 
America,  in  i86"i,  Mr.  Gladstone  committed  the 
second  big  blunder  of  his  life,  and  one  for  which, 
like  the  first,  he  was  afterwards  compelled  to 
apologize  and  express  contrition.  In  a  public  ad- 
dress at  Newcastle  he  exultingly  declared  that 
"  Jefferson  Davis  had  created  a  nation,"  and  pre- 
dicted the  irretrievable  dissolution  of  the  Ameri- 
can Union.  Thenceforward  his  sympathies  and 
his  influence  were  altogether  on  the  side  of  the 
South. 

It  is  not  profitable  to  speculate  upon  his  motives 
in  thus  siding  with  slaveholders  against  freedom. 


442  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

Doubtless  his  heart  warmed  for  the  Confederates 
because  of  their  emphatic  free-trade  principles. 
Free  trade  in  America  would,  he  thought,  be 
greatly  to  England's  commercial  advantage  ;  and 
the  breaking  up  of  the  Great  Republic  would  in 
many  respects  inure  to  England's  benefit.  That 
so  great  a  man,  and  one  so  full  of  love  for  human- 
ity, should  be  swayed  by  such  mercenary  motives, 
is  a  fact  to  be  remembered  only  with  pity  and  re- 
gret. In  taking  this  position  Mr.  Gladstone  dif- 
fered not  only  from  his  opponent,  Mr.  Disraeli, 
but  also  from  his  close  friends,  Mr.  Bright  and  Mr. 
Forster,  all  of  whom  were  steadfast  friends  of  the 
Union. 

At  the  general  election  in  1865  Mr.  Gladstone 
stood  again  for  Oxford,  but  was  beaten  by  Mr. 
Gathorne  Hardy.  He  obtained  a  seat  in  the 
House,  however,  from  South  Lancashire.  Lord 
Palmerston  died  soon  after,  and  Earl  Russell 
became  Prime  Minister,  with  Mr.  Gladstone  as 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  and  Leader  of  the 
House  of  Commons.  His  Budget  in  1866  showed 
a  surplus  of  ^6,500,000,  and  further  reduction"~of 
.taxation  followed.  He  then  brought  in  a  sweep- 
ing Reform  bill,  intended  to  extend  the  franchise 
to  about  400,000  more  electors.  After  its  second 
reading  the  bill  was  defeated  by  a  motion  of  Lord 
Dunkellin,  -and  the  government  resigned  after 
less  than  a  year  s  existence.  Lord  Derby  formed 
a  new  ministry,    Mr.    Disraeli   succeeding   Mr. 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  443 

Gladstone  in  the  Exchequer;  and  a  year  and  a 
half  later  Mr.  Disraeli  became  Prime  Minister, 
reaching  that  coveted  goal  in  advance  of  his  great 
rival.  But  although  in  opposition,  Mr.  Gladstone, 
during  this  time,  exercised  an  important  influence 
on  legislatibn.  He  and  Mr.  Bright  largely  shaped 
the  Reform  bill  of  1867,  which  enacted  household 
suffrage,  pure  and  simple,  in  the  boroughs.  His 
bill  abolishing  compulsory  church  rates  was 
adopted  in  1868  ;  and  after  a  long  debate  his  reso- 
lutions declaring  for  the  disestablishment  of  the 
Irish  Church  were  carried  by  a  heavy  majority. 
Then  he  brought  in  a  bill  putting  these  declara- 
tions in  effect.  It  was  adopted  by  the  House  of 
Commons  but  rejected  by  the  Lords,  whereupon 
Parliament  was  dissolved.  On'  the  appeal  to  the 
country  a  great  Liberal  majority  was  returned, 
Mr.  Disraeli  resigned,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  became 
Prime  Minister  for  the  first  time,  December  9, 
1868.  Backed  up  by  an  overwhelming  majority 
in  the  Commons,  he  was  able  to  do  much  as  he 
pleased,  and  a  period  of  great  legislative  activity 
ensued.  The  most  important  measure  passed  by 
this  government  was  the  Education  act,  for  which 
credit  is  due  chiefly  to-  Mr.  Forster.  The  Irish 
Church  was  disestablished  in  1869  and  the  Irish 
Land  act  became  a  law  in  1870.  When  the 
Franco-German  war  broke  out,  Mr.  Gladstone 
declined  to  define  the  attitude  of  England,  and 
tbereby  provoked  much  dissatisfaetioii.    In  1871 


444  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

the  royal  warrant  abolishing  the  system  of  pur- 
chasing army  offices  was  issued,  and  the  treaty 
of  Washington,  for  settling  by  arbitration  the 
disputes  with  America,  was  concluded.  These 
disputes  were  finally  setded  by  the  arbitratocs  at 
Geneva  in  1872,  and  England  was  mulcted  in  a 
heavy  sum  of  damages,  a  just  result,  but  one  which 
gave  Mr.  Gladstone  much  unpopularity  at  home. 
Other  laws  passed  in  this  and  the  following  years 
were  the  Ballot  bill ;  acts  protecting  the  public  health, 
prohibiting  adulteration  of  food  and  medicines, 
and  regulating  the  management  of  mines ;  and 
an  Education  act  for  Scotland.  The  government 
tried  to  settle  the  Irish  University  question  in  1873, 
but  were  beaten  by  the  narrow  margin  of  three 
votes.  Thereupon  they  resigned,  but  resumed 
office  again  on  Mr.  Disraeli's  refusing  to  form  a 
ministry.  Cabinet  dissensions  followed,  and  in  a 
fit  of  temper  Mr.  Gladstone  in  1874  unexpectedly 
dissolved  Parliament.  The  ensuing  elections  gave 
the  Conservatives  a  large  majority  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  resigned  office, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Disraeli.  He  also  re- 
signed the  leadership  of  the  Liberal  party,  and 
was  temporarily  succeeded  by  the  Marquis  of 
Hartington. 

In  his  retirement  from  politics  he  now  busied 
himself  with  theology,  writing  an  "Essay  on  Rit 
ualism,"  and  a  sharp  pamphlet  on  '*  Vaticanism/' 
in  which  he,  vigorously  attacked  the  doctrine,  ot 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  445 

Papal  Infallibility.    These  utterances  involved  him 
in  a  spiritual  controversy  with  Cardinal  Newman. 
The  outrages  perpetrated  by  the  Turks  in  Bulgaria, 
in  which  the  British  government  declined  to  inter- 
fere, called  him  back  to  politics.     At  great  public 
meetings   throughout   the  country  he  scathingly 
arraigned  the  government  for  its  inhumanity  ;  he 
denounced   as   unconstitutional  the   bringing   of 
Indian  troops  to  .Malta;  the  Anglo-Turkish  treaty 
he  declared  to  be  insane  ;  the  purchase  of  the  Suez 
Canal  shares  he  pronounced  an  act  of  madness, 
in  which  he  made  another  mistake,  as  that  invest- 
ment has  proved  to  be  in  all  respects  one  of  the 
best  ever  made  by  any  government ;  he  condemned 
the  Afghan  war ;  and  generally  criticised  the  policy 
of  the  government  in  the  severest  possible  manner. 
In  1880  Parliament  was  dissolved,  and  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, as  member  for  Mid-Lothian,  came  into  the 
new  Parliament  with  a  great  Liberal  majority,  and 
became  for  the  second  time  Prime  Minister. 

Irish  affairs  largely  monopolized  attention  now. 
A  stringent  Coercion  act  was  passed,  the  Land 
League  was  ruthlessly  suppressed,  and  the  Irish 
parliamentary  leaders  were  imprisoned  wholesale. 
Lord  Frederick  Cavendish,  Irish  Secretary,  was 
murdered,  and  a  most  harsh  and  arbitrary  act  for 
the  prevention  of  crimes  was  adopted.  A  second 
Land  bill  was  passed  after  a  third  battle  with  the 
Lords,  and  an  Arrears  act,  both  intended  to 
ameliorate  the  condition  of.  the  Irish  -peasants. 


446  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

An  Affirmation  bill,  to  admit  Mr.  Bradlaugh^  tKe 
infidel,  to  the  House  without  the  customary  oath, 
was  advocated  by  Mr.  Gladstone  vigorously,  but 
was  rejected.  Important  laws  were  passed  relating 
to  tramways  in  Ireland,  bankruptcy,  emigration, 
and  agricultural  holdings.  The  Franchise  bill, 
establishing  almost  universal  suffi-age,  was  passed 
after  a  struggle  with  the  Lords  that  at  one  time 
threatened  a  revolution;  and  a  bill  redistributing 
parliamentary  seats  so  as  to  reorganize  the  House 
of  Commons  entirely,  followed.  Foreign  affairs 
gave  much  trouble.  A  war  was  begun  in  Egypt, 
Alexandria  was  destroyed  by  bombardment,  and  a 
number  of  battles  were  fought,  which  were  mere 
massacres  of  Arabs.  These  operations  have  been 
generally  condemned  as  a  needless  waste  of  life 
and  treasure,  and  Mr.  Bright  resigned  from  the 
Cabinet  to  mark  his  detestation  of  them.  General 
Gordon  was  sent  to  Khartoum  and  there  abanr 
doned  to  his  fate,  the  government  shamefully 
breaking  its  promises  to  him  and  calling  down  on 
its  head,  at  his  death,  a  storm  of  execration.  In 
Afghanistan,  Russia  made  great  aggressions,  and 
a  war  seemed  imminent,  but  it  was  averted  by  the 
simple  policy  of  yielding  to  all  of  Russia's  indolent 
demands.  Finally  the  government  was  defeated 
on  their  Ctistoms  and  Inland  Revenue  bill,  and 
resigned  in  June,  1885.  ;:  -  :  i:.  ;•  .:? 
The  new  election  und^r  tthe  FraMMse  ai^d 
Redistribution  aets  took  placei  that  falli  smd.Mn 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL.  447 

Gladstone  was  again  returned  for  Mid-Lothiart, 
with  a  large  Liberal  majority  in  the  House.  Lord 
Salisbury  held  on  to  his  office  for  a  time,  but  was 
unable  to  command  a  working  majority,  so  he 
resigned,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  became  Prime  Minis- 
ter for  the  third  time  on  February  6,  1886.  He 
soon  put  forward  his  scheme  for  Home  Rule  in 
Ireland,  which  caused  a  revolt  in  the  party.  Lord 
Partington,  Lord  Selborne,  Sir  Henry  James,  Mr. 
Bright,  Mr.  Goschen,  Mr.  Chamberlain  and  other 
great  Liberal  leaders  opposed  him  and  formed  the 
Liberal  Unionist  party.  Thus  his  scheme  wa^ 
rejected  by  the  House,  and  Parliament  Was  soon 
dissolved;  The  new  election  resulted  in  an  over- 
whelming majority  against  Mr.  Gladstone,  who 
thereupon  resigned  in  July,  1886,  and  hais  since 
been  the  leader  of  the  Opposition  in  the  House  of 
Commons.  His  political  activity  has  been  very 
great  since  his  retirement  from  office,  and  he  has 
made  num erous  valuable  contributions  to  the 
periodical  literature  of  the  day. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  by  the  unanimous  verdict  of 
critics,  is  the  greatest  English  orator  of  our  tittxei 
He  is  gifted  with  a  marvellous  voice  and  an  unfail- 
ing command  of  words.  Wordiness,  indeed,  some^ 
tinies  becomes  his  fault;  and  he  was  once  char- 
acterized by  his  great  political  opponent  as  **a 
sophistical  rhetorician,  intoxicated  with  the  exuber- 
ance of  his  own"  verbosity."  His  noble  ojunte- 
nance  iand  intense  manner  make  his  speeches  moit 


448  CHARLES  STEWART  FARNELL. 

effectual  when  listened  to  ;  but  on  account  of  their 
involved  construction  they  do  not  read  well,  and 
can  never  be  quoted  to  advantage.  He  is  not  a 
successful  party  leader,  because  of  his  dogmatic 
and  arbitrary  ways  and  his  lack  of  tact  in  dealing 
with  men.  He  possesses  great  wealth,  and  lives 
at  Hawarden  Castle,  a  fine  estate  in  Wales.  He 
has  outgrown  the  delicate  health  of  his  youth,  and 
enjoys  a  robust  and  vigorous  old  age ;  delighting 
in  intellectual  labor  and  physical  outdoor  exercise, 
felling  trees  being  his  favorite  recreation.  His 
personal  popularity  with  a  great  portion  of  the 
English  people  is  very  great.  Years  ago  he  was 
sneeringly  called  **The  People's  William.*'  Of 
late  years  his  devotion  to  the  cause  he  deemed 
right,  and  the  splendid  vitality  of  his  declining 
years,  have  given  to  him  the  popular  title  by 
which  he  will  doubdess  always  henceforth  be 
known— **  The  Grand  Old  Man/' 


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